Dead Man Walking
by UnbreachableJericho
Summary: Philemon has watched the eternal Cycle that consumes Tatsumi Port Island and the Members of SEES. If nothing will change, if the same choices will always be chosen, It may be time for a set of Fresh Eyes. Enter; Literally the first person who came along.
1. Prologue

**April 9th** **2009, 2330 Hours.**

I had been having a bad day.

I walked down a dark road, my heavy footfalls the only rhythmic noise above the random background noise that occupied most major cities. I had a courier's bag thrown haphazardly over my shoulder, filled with every single one of my worldly possessions. The street I walked down was deserted, which if you considered the hour wasn't all that unusual. I had just gotten into town today and I could already see that for a metropolitan city Tatsumi Port Island was surprisingly mellow.

Little to no foot traffic at night, no crime happening in plain view, and the only puddles on the ground seemed to be made of water. This was just about as far as I could get from My usual haunts, hell I could barely smell pollution on the breeze.

But all this just brought it home for Me.

'_Here?'_ I wondered, 'This _is where the road takes me? I spend almost a year living above a Fish market in Tokyo only to end up in a city so clean I could eat off of the streets. The hell kinda joke is this?'_

I looked over myself before observing my surroundings, coming to the conclusion that I stood out like a lion with a Gatling gun, riding on a jet ski. Which stood out.

Metaphors are not my strong suit.

Either way, I knew for certain that my dark and ratty hoodie, with all its' rips, tears, and mends, would stand out in this pristine environment. Even when I had walked past the monorail station and through the alleyways behind it I had found quite literally the most pathetic group of delinquents I have ever come across, about twenty or so teenagers sat around the largest alley. They had barely registered my entrance before I was in the middle of the pitiful group. I heard the more boastful bragging about mundane and petty crimes to one another while the more violent ones playfully, _playfully god damn it,_ fought with each other.

When the majority noticed my presence, most had returned to their own conversations without giving me a second glance. The more paranoid, _another word for smart I'd found_, ones kept their eyes on me but said nothing to me directly and made no move to confront me for being there. I had shaken my head at their idiocy then and I shook my head again now as I remembered the way they had shown no fear or even recognition, but it meant that I would have an easier time here than usual.

No established criminal underground, _or possibly an extremely old and well-developed criminal underground that is hidden properly_, signaled that violent crimes here were not regular occurrence and I wouldn't be wasting too much precious time focusing on stopping them, _Damn my Hero Complex_. I'd be free to continue my investigation without distraction for once, and I let a sharp smile cross my face at the thought.

I had spent most of my teenage life living the eventful life of the Wanderer, much the same as I had when I was a small child, but now I was on my own as a foreigner in Japan. This presented me with a fair amount of trouble seeing as I had little knowledge of the language and culture of the country I had found myself in. The local populace weren't outright xenophobic, but I still caught static sometimes. While I had adapted after a while, I had still been delayed by it.

Like always.

I remembered how flabbergasted I had been when my Father's Will had stated that he wished to be buried off the coast of the base in Okinawa, but I had followed the instructions through nonetheless. The feeling seemed to multiply however when I thought of my Father's last instructions to me; "Follow our path. I got you as close as I could, now it's up to you. I only know that you're looking for a person, someone walking a different, lonelier, path. When you find them, you won't be able to leave them behind. Not like everyone else. It's up to you to find them, though. You better get moving, pup."

Ramblings of a Madman they may have been but they were the last request of my Dad, so I found myself retracing my old man's steps in Japan to find some insight. I had yet to find a living friend of my Father's beyond a rather _eccentric_ man who lived in Nagasaki with his "wife", but I had some hope that the old man in Tatsumi Port was still alive.

"_Too stubborn to die_," pops had once told me.

And now I was in a city I had only visited once in my life, all those years ago.

_My Father and I had flown in because his friend, the stubborn one, had called in a Favor. Apparently, he was owed because he had agreed to marry a particularly addled-in-the-Brain old man to his favorite Pigeon. And that might've been enough to revoke his marriage licensing. Our Father-Son duo ended up in the city on the day after an explosion. I still remember the smell of smoke in the air, the pollution being masked by a heavy, biting, metallic smell and the layer of soot that colored the taller buildings black. More importantly I had to avoid piles of the gray ash that was building up around the drainage ditches._

_I assumed that the place had seen better days. _

_The construction crews had been flying non-standard logos on their clothing and were working much faster than I had ever seen a construction crew work. And I'd seen a bridge built in a week, once._

_My Dad had gestured towards them with his head while we were sat upon a bench waiting for his friend to show. "They work for the Yakuza, pup," as he ate his (not quite) takoyaki, "They have the Kirijo Group written all over them."_

"_The what?" I asked around a bite of (obviously fake) squid, partly because I was curious and partly because I knew he wouldn't say anything else until I asked._

"_Big operation that was based on smuggling," he shrugged with a satisfied smirk, "Apparently, they're some hot shit around here." We sat there eating and chatting about the city for maybe five minutes before a convoy of black cars pulled up in front of a particularly large building down the street, "Ten bucks says that's the head honcho."_

"_You know you told me not to let you gamble again, Dad," I declined with a shake of my head and a derisive snort._

_He had the gall to look confused, "When the hell did I tell you that?"_

"_After you nearly lost me in a poker tournament, the big one with those Bratva bosses," I responded in what I hoped was a clipped and indignant manner. I may not have been present for the game but I was told by a witness that it was extremely close, "Now be quiet, I'm trying to focus." Out of the car stepped a large man with a dark complexion wearing an eyepatch, a sling that his right arm hung limply over the three-piece suit he was wearing all while smoking a nasty smelling cigar. His driver, and I assume some form of bodyguard, rushed to help him out as though he were a toddler taking his first steps. The man waved him off with a mixture of patience and annoyance, a look I often wore when dealing with Pops, in favor of using his left arm to help out a girl my age from the same door. I kept my eyes on the procession, watching the rather open procession of Yakuza in broad daylight, until they were out of sight before turning back to my Dad. "Why are they helping repair the city? I thought Yakuza were the Japanese Mafia."_

_His eyes squinted as he looked back and forth between me and the procession, but he coughed and looked away when I glared at him. He looked contemplative, or as close as he ever got, for a moment before responding, "Not exactly. Where the Mafia is exclusively an organization that runs outside of legal boundaries Yakuza groups are not nearly as definite. Sometimes they help out, sometimes they hurt," he shrugged before taking another bite, "But this level of reconstruction?" he said as he waved a piece of Takoyaki around like a conductor's wand, "Reeks of guilt, Pup. They had something to do with it."_

_I soaked it in for a moment, the hidden nuggets of truth and wisdom he always stuffed into his concise sentences, before my Dad jumped to his feet, spilling his food in the process. _

_I jumped to my feet immediately following it. Pops _never _wasted food without a reason. "Oi! What do you think you're doing!" he yelled as he gave chase to a would-be-mugger._

_And then we were off, diving into trouble once again._

I shook my head to rouse myself from the surprisingly fond memory, and looked at the moon, that was slowly reaching its apex. I looked at the beat up old watch on my left wrist just as the ambient light around me shifted, the dull white from neon signs shifting to a sickly green-yellow. My hands shot up to catch my head as a bout of vertigo struck me and nearly sent me spilling onto the road, but I managed to catch myself on the wall of a nearby store. After nearly a minute the world stopped shaking and spinning I bent over and put my hands on my knees in an effort to even out my breathing.

I felt it before I saw it, the unnatural atmosphere I was now stood in, the feeling of somebody watching me, and the unnatural scurrying coming from my blind spots. My heartbeat quickly pumping loudly in my ears as I squared up against… Whatever was happening. My head shot up as I registered the coppery scent on the breeze that would've been impossible to miss. I stood stock still, waiting for something to happen, and only after a minute of waiting I stood up straight and, as quietly as I was _fucking_ able to, set off towards the source of the smell. I passed by many small puddles of blood, and I stopped at each one to look for signs of an attack, or an accident from the power outage, but there were never any tracks or bloodspray, or anything other than a fucking puddle of blood.

And each time, there was a bigger source of the smell, so I forged on. Once again I cursed my inability to leave things well enough alone, the same compulsion that was making me inspect every single puddle driving me forward. To make sure there was no one I could help. That I could save.

I blamed the years I spent traveling with the old Bastard, helping people or making things worse depending on the day.

It was only when I saw the coffins, standing upright without support, did I stop my trudge in full. The yellow-green light that reflected off of every surface, even the blood, seemed to be absorbed by the black panels of the coffins. For a brief moment I stared at them, before I moved forwards and rapped on the lid of the nearest one, but even the sound seemed to be lost to the void as none came from it even as I put more and more force into it. After a moment my temper got the best of me and I slugged the thing with all my might. No noise, no light, but it did tip in its place slightly before coming back to rest in its starting spot.

I sighed in annoyance at the situation I was in as I looked east, towards the looming steel skeleton of the Moonlight Bridge. _Just had to come to Tatsumi Port_, I thought acerbically, _Just had to transfer to that rich kid school on the island, didn't you_. I grimaced at my thoughts and decided to instead continue walking, though now with caution as the Coffins and Blood had slightly put me on edge.

Not to mention that the air felt charged, the type of tension that put those privy to it on edge. Those with no sense or experience usually reacted by fidgeting or doing some other inane task to release the pent up nervous energy, unaware that the body was storing that energy to help you out if things went south. The green night sky and puddles of blood helped to add gravitas to the situation, but the real signal to me that something was truly going on was the fact that I couldn't think of anything save the tail end of a conversation with Pops, his gravelly voice drowning out all other thoughts and making my skin crawl in anticipation.

"_When the mind doesn't know what's goin' on, pup, you let your body take over. It's got a good sense of direction,_" came the advice I had once dismissed as gibberish but had come to hold as law over years of ridiculously dangerous situations. I let my feet guide me through the unnerving silence, my footsteps in the street ringing out like gunshots in the night, "_If you ever see something outside of what your mind can believe it's time to let go of the reigns. The carriage without a driver is harder to stop, Whelp,_" the second half of the statement was finally beginning to make sense, but I waylaid the revelation for another time as I focused upon evening out my breathing to _attempt_ to follow the advice. I let my eyes roam where they wished as I tried to "calmly" assess the situation.

'_Green sky and giant moon? Check. Water turned to blood? Check. Nausea inducing atmosphere? Check. Viable explanation?'_ I looked to my right as I passed a pet store and saw a tank filled to the brim with blood, which I assumed used to be a fish tank, '_A hearty "Hell No" on that one. Not that the why's matter right now. Survive first, ask questions later. If ever.'_

At this point, I was reconsidering my statement from before. This was ratcheting up the danger factor, reliably letting me say that I wasn't just having a bad day, I was having what could be considered a bad year. Or even a bad life.

The buildings of Iwatodai stood over me as I walked calmly, or as calmly as someone could while stepping around puddles of blood, through the night and came upon a new source of sound. With chittering sounds that made me think I was looking at a decomposed _bird_, an inky black puddle raised itself from the blood on the ground, but just like the coffins it seemed to refuse to be lit by the green moonlight. The only color on the creature was the white mask that adorned its face. It let out a screech and rushed me with dripping, viscous appendages forming on either side.

Caught off guard by the sudden appearance I could only throw up a hasty block that earned me a cut on my right arm before hopping back. A second ticked by while I was staring in confusion at the thing, before a snarl overcame my face and I realized that this thing was _perfect_ stress relief. When the second arm came down in its' arc I caught it in my left hand and pushed it away before proceeding to jump forward and curb stomp the thing as any properly experienced _Goon_ should be able to do. And if there was any proper way to describe me, it was the word Goon.

The living puddle slank away to reform, but I was having none of that, falling upon the waist high high creature with a _vengeance_, deciding that even if I couldn't kill it like this, _I'd make it regret trying to attack me_. My fists arced through the disturbed night as I felt my anger boiling and steaming out of me, and I felt myself calming to the situation despite the circumstances. Violence had been a constant in my life ever since I could remember, for better or worse, and it helped me calm down and regroup.

Unfortunately, it also distracted me, which let another one of the slimy bastards get the drop on me and land a solid blow to my back, staggering me forward. I spun around with a growl and caught the hand of the much larger Creature as it sought my neck, before falling backwards into a roll, tearing the limb off of its host. Then as I stood the thing surged forward and I responded with gusto, sweeping my leg through its bulk with a yell of exertion.

Thankfully I had put enough force behind the strikes to send it flopping to the side in two pieces, where it lay for a moment before coalescing back into its original form with the same screech from before, one that put nails on a chalkboard to shame. I felt the limb I had torn off begin to flop around in my grip limply and grimaced in disgust, before chucking it at the creature. Not waiting to see if my aim was true I dashed off down the street, chuckling darkly to myself when I heard the wet slapping sound of a fleshy impact behind me, to look for anything to give me an advantage.

I spied a gate, one that was supposed to keep stragglers out of the alleyways behind the storefront, with a lock on it. I ran towards it, shaking it vigorously to open it but found that the lock was rusted shut and attached to a newer looking chain looped through the bars. I pulled out my pocket knife from my, _you guessed it,_ pocket and crudely jiggled it around the keyhole. It popped open after thirty seconds, the buildup having caked and sealed it further than any I had dealt with before, and I had tugged the chain from in between the bars when I finally heard the scrambling of claws on asphalt.

_For something made of fluid its claws make a surprising amount of noise_, came the lucid and calm part of my brain before my appropriately frenzied thoughts came rushing back in.

I turned to see it gaining ground on me and tugged on the chain one last time, surprised to find that the chain was close to seven feet long. The heavy links clinked and clanked but they held firm under my testing so I wrapped a length around my right hand like Brass knuckles and assumed a defensive stance. The creature lunged at me and I did what came naturally; an uncontrolled swing. The chain scythed through the air and intercepted it, slicing it clean in two.

I looked at the rapidly, _very rapidly_, decaying parts in glee at my success just as the chain followed through and walloped the back of my left thigh. I let out a _very_ manly yelp and began furiously rubbing the forming bruise just as I heard a cacophony of noise from behind me, as though a hundred dogs were rushing towards me on a tile floor. I turned towards the alleyway I had opened and found a few dozen of the things clawing their way towards me. I slammed the gate shut and bolted, wrapping the excess of the chain around my arm to avoid further mishaps. I heard them hit the gate and how it buckled under their assault, but I was too busy running to truly care. Sometimes the best defense was to be anywhere else.

My bag was riding comfortably even as I ran, long ago having mastered the art of running while carrying crap, but the strap was beginning to dig into my shoulder from how often I was turning abruptly to look for anything, safe or dangerous. My footsteps echoed like gunshots in the unnaturally silent night, and my breathing came out in controlled rasps as adrenaline began to pump through my veins, a smirk making itself known despite the danger I was in as my body decided that fighting for my life was fun.

A small part of my brain wished I disagreed, because I'd probably live longer.

I turned the corner towards the train station and instantly found myself under assault once more, having to immediately slide under a swinging blade about two feet long as it scythed through the air with a whistle. It was held and swung by a monstrosity much larger than the one I had killed, a mass made entirely of arms, somehow supporting it as though it was mimicking spiders in an attempt to distance itself from whatever deep dark hole in reality it had torn itself loose from. The _best_ part of it was the fact that what arms weren't working overtime pretending to be legs were wielding even more short swords. Thankfully I had managed to avoid dying just yet, but unfortunately my escape route took me _under _the beast and into its tangle of limbs. My bulk and momentum allowed me to stagger it and crush some of its supporting limbs, these also being made of the same ichor as the creatures from before, so I managed to pull myself out from under the wave of blades coming for me with the gracious second of time the maneuver gained me.

I stumbled to my feet, huffing as the adrenaline finally caught up to my system and saw my vision clarifying and sharpening, while grabbing onto a table in front of a flower shop for support as the beast recovered. One hand reached into the mass from which all of the arms originated at the center, the thing's supposed body, and withdrew a mask like the one on the other formless monstrosity and proceeded to roar at me from the mouth of the mask, like some nightmare brought to life.

I roared back, the adrenaline in me refusing to be intimidated for some ungodly reason, before throwing the closest thing on hand at the mask.

The flowerpot exploded in a shower of dirt and ceramic as it was sliced out of the air by one of its many blades, but it was enough to blind and enrage the beast. It rushed forward through the settling cloud only to find nothing where its prey once stood. I watched as its mask turned left and right before I shoulder charged into it from behind. I sent its whole body forward into the storefront with a crescendo, yelling out obscenities and tearing off the limbs upon its back the entire time as my toll for daring to make my night even worse than it had been. I ripped and tore at the monstrous thing, removing anything that even looked pointy before it could try and gut me again.

It roared in defiance as the shards of glass cut into its dripping hide and its limbs were rent from its bulk before slamming me away bodily with nearly a dozen open-handed arms. I bounced off the ground before twisting and rolling backwards, covering my face with my arms from the glass that I rolled over. I shot to my feet with a stumble and fell into a loose stance so I could be better able to respond to anything it threw at me, snarling viciously at it while twirling the chain in my right hand until it wound back around my hand. The monstrosity made to move towards me but found itself off-kilter with the loss of so many limbs and it stumbled just as I had before catching itself. Its mask looked around itself, seeing the pooling of midnight ichor from its stumps, before it reared up and began to make softer, almost bird-like clucking sounds.

"The hell..?" came my confused question before I heard the tell tale scratching coming from all around me accompanied with similar keens, screechs, and chirrups. I looked down the road only to find a veritable horde of monsters surging towards me, a mixture of puddles and floating feather dusters and other equally ridiculous and dangerous shapes, I turned back to the larger monster and growled at the cowardice. '_Callin' on others to do the dirty work for you, eh?_' I scoffed at the idea, '_Like I'm going to make it easy for ya.' _I rushed at the injured beast, but its many limbs still allowed for nearly unhindered movement and led to me chasing it, all the way through the most infamous alleyway in the city and into the more residential area filled with apartment complexes.

Obstacles like trash cans and coffins were ignored, thrown aside or jumped over in my pursuit. My blood boiled at the thought of the much faster creature getting away, as the only reason I was keeping pace with it was it's injuries and unwieldy shape, and the rage forced its way out of my mouth in the form of a roar, "_**GET BACK HERE!**_", my voice full of fury as I ran, barely taking note of the man that I passed in my pursuit and his subsequently shocked expression.

* * *

End of Prologue.

* * *

_Alright, nothing to see here. Just a story I wrote a long while back and never got around to posting._

_I don't foresee this becoming a large story, and chapters will probably stay below 4k. No hard set schedule on updates either. _

_On the actual story here, it's pretty standard. Basically what I think would happen if A character showed up in Tatsumi Port based solely on bad luck. He doesn't have access to a Persona yet, so he can't kill any Shadows easily, but he can mess them up and make them retreat. He is here to bring a bit of Instinct to the Group, with a load of Intuitive people vs. Junpei, no one follows their gut or even tries to do anything without massive deliberation. And don't get me started on the Average En Stat of the P3 Cast. These are all things I plan to fix with the OC. He ain't here to save the world, he ain't the Main Character of the story, and he certainly ain't going to follow the main plot of the show. Most importantly, he don't need no hand-holding when it comes to being social._

_Expect some rather Goon-like behavior, just to shake things up. Hope you enjoy._


	2. Intro Arc: Fun Times

**April 9th 2009, 0000 Hours.**

The damn thing was quick, I'd give it that. Here I was, sprinting at full tilt to keep up with the thing as it ran away, screaming like a wounded Deer I might add, but even without all of its limbs it was still easily beginning to outpace me. I only gained ground on the street corners we passed, as it slid and lost traction on its slimy arms while I was much more used to chasing things down than it must have been at running away. In fact, I'd go as far as to say it was my Specialty.

That being said, I was still equal parts livid and hyped up on adrenaline, and refused to let the thing away without a verbal lashing.

"**Where're you going?**" I yelled ahead of me as I began to breathe heavier than normal, "**Fight me, ya Coward!**" I screamed hoarsely before watching as the spider-like monster scurried further out of my reach, seeming to be sprinting away from me, as it continued to head for the tallest building in the surrounding area, a four story apartment building, and slam into the front doors with such force that I could feel it from where I was running. When they didn't budge it instead began climbing the side of the building with surprising speed.

I came to a stop about twenty meters from the front of the building just as it cleared the lip of the roof, "Well that's not just not fair," I muttered despondently as I stared at the space it disappeared into. I placed my hands on my hips before, remembering faintly the veritable army that the thing had summoned back at the station. I turned around as I felt the rumble approaching only to jump nearly a foot in the air when I noticed that I wasn't alone. "_Jesus Christ!_" I cursed as I fell backwards in a panicked stance, "_Where the hell did you come from?!_"

"I was doing my rounds when that thing called in an army in to deal with you, and by extension me as well simply for existing near you. I've been running with you for the past five minutes?" The Guy spoke as he was bent over at the waist with his hands on his knees, and I raised an eyebrow at the high quality brass knuckles he was wearing. "Did you really not notice?" He raised his head to give me a bewildered look.

"I was..." Angry? Enraged? Infuriated? _Pissed?_ "_Preoccupied._" I settled on with a frown as I tightened the strap of my pack and stared towards the corner we had come around to get to this street, knowing that said Army was probably bearing down on us. I began looking for alternative routes to go, or possible things I could stop them with, but I was interrupted by a grunt from my wayward companion.

He stood up straight before grabbing me by the shoulder and turning towards the building that the thing had scaled to escape me… Us? "I need you to get to that building and get inside. There's people that can protect you there."

"And what? Leave you to fight the horde by yourself? I think the fuck not. Move it, **bucko,**" I spat acerbically, but he only responded by pulling out a handgun and waggling it in my direction, but I was unconvinced. "Oh yeah, a Pistol. That solves _everything_. You got what? Thirteen bullets, tops," but he responded by placing it against his forehead and putting his finger on the trigger, but I yelped and quickly slapped his hand down, "_Now is not the time to be givin' up!_" I turned back to the corner and gestured wildly with the chain in my hand, "If you die I gotta fight all of 'em myself, ya selfish bastard! I could barely handle two of the things!"

He gave me a derisive snort and a shake of his head, "Trust me, I'm not giving up," He once again raised his gun, but before I could stop him he fired the thing. A sudden burst of wind, an explosion of bright white light, and the sound of breaking glass overpowered all other sound in the dark and gloomy night as a humanoid figure appeared behind the man. It was massive, at least twenty-five feet tall and broad in the shoulders wearing some odd space-age shit on its hands while it landed on the ground and mimicked the stance of the man who had made it appear.

Properly out of my depth, I numbly turned towards the Building once more and decided that I'd either gone crazy or was in another world entirely. Either way, now was the time to shut up and move, not talk. I threw a distant, "Good Luck then," over my shoulder as I began to walk and then run towards my destination as the Adrenaline began to overpower the shock. As in, probably medical shock at this point. I sluggishly looked over my shoulder briefly as the figure aimed its hands at the crowd of monsters to unleash bolts of lightning to reduce them to dust, before just as quickly returning to look ahead. '_Right, focus. Leave the big insanity over there, you deal with small insanity in front of you. The Door's fifty feet away, how hard could it be?_'

I stopped running forward and twisted to the right as a claw swiped through where I had been standing, before snarling and mule kicking the offending Puddle into a streetlight and stubbornly continuing on. As I spied more enemies literally appearing in my path I grimaced and pushed forward, meeting an odd pair of people sharing the same kebab with a firm Punch to one's Chest before falling back to avoid its retaliatory spin. I grunted as something knocked me forward with an impact to my Backpack, and growled harshly when I caught a spinning boot to the chin for my trouble. I surged forward into the blow and tackled the pair to the ground before lunging forwards like a linebacker in a shoulder charge, just hoping something else got in my way.

Just something else I could use as a shield or a weapon, after all.

With a roar I knocked aside a Floating Feather Duster, at this point not even bothering to be surprised at the bizarre nature of my enemies, before my hand shot out and caught the thing by the… Horn? Crest? _Crest._ And Slamming it into the ground in front of me. I stomped on it a few times for good measure before loping forward once more, with only ten feet more to go.

Hell, I was nearly on the Steps.

Feeling a burst of warmth appear on the back of my neck and a bubbling sensation in my veins, I threw myself to the left to slam into a car as a ball of fire the size of a basketball shot through where I had been standing before slamming into the Front door of the building, which looked like some sort of Apartment in the middle of a warzone. I turned around with wide eyes as I saw every single enemy I had tackled aside or beat down still up and moving, with about half of them forming more orbs of fire to blast me with. With a yelp I pushed off of the car I was leaning against to throw myself away from it as three separate projectiles honed in on my position, setting off the Car alarm in the process.

Without anyway to close the distance or even something to throw at them I snarled in disgust with myself and scrambled up the small staircase to begin pounding on the door. "**Open the fuck up!**" I yelled out as I spun and backhanded a puddle as it tried to grab me from behind. Once more the feeling in my chest guided me to the left with a raging snarl, ripping my Backpack from my back and wielding it like a shield and maul one in the same, using it to brace against the fireballs that slammed into me and knocking away anything from the door that I had my back braced against. I slammed my heel into said door and yelled once more, "**Oi!** I can deal with things trying to stab me, I can deal with things kickin' me in the face, but **flamethrowers are where I draw the line!** For fuck's sake, **open up!**"

I cursed as an arrow hit my makeshift shield with a thump, which was currently on fire and falling apart in my hands, and swiftly followed its path to find a pair of cupid-demon looking things with me in their sights. I growled as there was nothing I could really do. They wouldn't die. It was like they were made of Jelly, anything he did shook them, made them screech in apparent pain, but then they just came back together to come back for more. Now, I could sit here all night and fight until I died, but without something to fight for? No thank you, I'd rather live thank you.

In the end, I did what I could. I held the backpack over my face and leaned back against the wooden door to limit what could get to me. I lashed out with a kick for the Kebab Boys as they stumbled towards me, and yelled out as an arrow pierced my shoulder.

Behind me the sounds of the Door Handle being turned was all the sign that I needed, and turned frantically to slam my shoulder into the Door roughly, spilling onto carpet. Not even a second of rest before I tossed my Flaming hunk of Backpack to the left as I rolled to my right with a grimace and an obscene yell. I Stood as an arrow and burst of flame landed where I had been lying, but I ignored it in favor of stamping out my backpack before it got any worse.

"What in the world is happening?" Came the voice of my savior, a redheaded woman with long hair that came down most of her back and an imperious expression in red eyes, who had wisely taken a page from my book and was posted up against the door for cover. I gave her the combat once over, and found one of the same pieces on her that the guy had shot himself with. I didn't feel too confident with the fact that she was wearing three inch heels, but I wasn't exactly overflowing with options here.

"Oh, you know, end of the world or something," I snarked as I psyched myself up to remove the Arrow from my shoulder. With a few quick breaths I yanked it out, thankfully finding the tip to be in the shape of a heart and not something nasty that would've torn my flesh apart. Had it been anywhere else, instinct or whatever was bringing me some small bit of clarity told me, I should've broken off the shaft and dealt with it, but it had landed in a very movement heavy spot, which was likely to hamper my combat effectiveness. Which I couldn't afford. To the Girl, who was unholstering her Pistol and unsheathing a Rapier from her belt, I clarified briefly, "Monsters wanted to kill and/or eat me, and I had issues with that. Then I met a nice guy who summoned a _God _or an alien or something like that," I shook my head as I threw myself against the wall to keep projectiles from having a line of sight on me, "To be honest I'm kind of lost here. I was hoping you'd know."

Her face hardened, but she nodded at my words, "I'll explain once I help Akihiko repel our invaders," She moved to step outside of the door, but faltered as she noticed the Blood soaking my Jacket, "Can you Move?"

I flexed my arm properly, and the feeling that seemed to have replaced adrenaline and Shock gave me reassurance that I could do more than that. I frowned and poked at the bloody hole in my jacket, shifting it about to get a good look at the wound. Or what had been a wound. The skin looked pink and raw around a circular scar, which still tickled as I poked it, but the skin was intact. In fact, as I looked over myself, I noticed that all but the deepest of gashes and largest of burns I had received in my mad dash through enemies were just angry red-pink lines and splotches across my body. "Move? I ain't dead yet. I can still fight, if I need to," I confirmed it by stretching my right arm, my swinging arm. Now, I left off the rest of the statement as I thought it, that I wasn't exactly looking forward to anymore fighting tonight.

"You've done well to survive this far. Stay here, You'll be safe," She looked aside with a furious expression on her face before her eyes returned to my face and she gave me a fencer's Salute, "I guarantee it," And with that she ran out the door, which was still smoldering in its place. I let out a sigh of relief before the feeling at the base of my neck returned with a startling reminder.

The Roof. Where that Fucker had scrambled off to.

An inward groan rumbled in my throat as I slammed the heel of my palm into my forehead as the beat of my heart began to fill my being, but I nodded in confirmation nonetheless. Apparently, my body had made a decision without my mind's knowledge, which might have been what my Pops had been talking about. Time to follow through, I guess. As I began to psych myself up for a fight to the death with that massive spider of arms, I realized that despite the fact that it was the most threatening physical presence I had encountered, it wasn't nearly as bad as dealing with fifteen things throwing fire at me. I could dodge around or knock over one thing, but any more than that? Not likely.

Abstractly, I came to the conclusion that I could win this fight.

The floor shook underneath my feet as another swirl of wind pushed through the Door and a shout came from outside, "_Penthiselia, I summon thee!_" I Slammed the door closed to keep anything nasty outside in the killing zone. Then I heaved a sigh and Stumbled towards the Stairs in the Corner of the room before regaining my feet and steadying enough to actually run. The sounds of ice and wind crackled through the air in the Lobby as I ran, as well as the sounds of those monsters keening and screaming in response.

The Sound of my heart pounding, overpowering the sounds of combat that I left behind, echoed my mind as Thoughts and confusions dulled into obscurity as only a single phrase began to repeat itself over and over again and my focus sharpened to a point. My left hand gripped the handrail to haul me up the stairs three steps at a time as I picked up speed, ignoring the second floor, then the third, and then the fourth after that. As I vaulted up the third set of stairs I heard the sounds of combat erupting from above me, before it fell silent for a moment. I sprinted up the last set of stairs and slammed into the Door as I reached it, but it held strong in its frame by the lock on the door.

The small part of me that wasn't in full support of what I was doing was livid at the turn of events, asking why I had to be the one to fight the thing. 'It's not important,' It reasoned, 'Doesn't need to be me that dies trying to tackle a giant spider off the roof. Let the people with the pistols handle it, no need for a personal vendetta.'

It clammed up when a shrill **Human** scream echoed from the other side of the door.

With a muffled curse as the Sounds on the other side of the Door intensified and an unearthly Sound shattered the air I pulled my Pocket knife Free and slid it down through the crack of the door, pushing when I hit resistance until I heard the tell-tale click of the lock coming undone. I swung open the Door to find yet another scene out of a nightmare as a Black-clad Humanoid swung a sword easily thirteen feet long around with ease, tearing apart the Monster I had fought at the Flower Shop earlier with its weapon and hands. The lucid part of my brain still barely functioning noted that it was much better at it.

In front of the Sickly Yellow-Green Moon stood another Redhead, this one with her hair done up in a ponytail at the crown of her head, and even though she stood half a foot shorter than me and probably half my weight, I could tell that she radiated power, unquestionably so. She turned in my direction, the movement eerily matched by the Coffin clad thing behind her to stare at me with glowing crimson eyes. She was breathing hard and leaned over at the waist, with blood dripping from her hairline and ears. Behind her the Sword wielding, Skull wearing, and with a cape made of coffins leaned back and roared its defiance to the sky before disappearing with a flash of light and the sound of breaking glass, which I had gathered was the sound of Gods popping into our reality.

I pulled my left arm up to cover my eyes from the light, with an annoyed grimace, before looking out from squinted eyes to find a much more pleasant looking figure in its place. But before I could even get a good look at it, it had fled in the same shattering noise to whatever place it had appeared from. I ignored it to survey the Roof, finding another girl who looked to be in the middle of a panic attack as she stared at the redhead while gripping her heart. I filed that away as important, she was alive for the most part, before swiveling around and cautiously moving towards the decaying lump of monster on the Roof. I stuck my foot out and touched it with the toe of my boot, but it didn't move. Dead then. I turned towards the redhead where she was on her knees gasping for breath looking a little confused, but otherwise alive. Before slumping over in a dead faint, letting the Pistol that had been held in a white knuckled grip slip out and fall to the ground in front of her.

Well, seeing as the Giant Spider was dissolving at my feet, that was my job done. I looked over at the Girl who was sitting against the Wall, looking more aware than before, and nodded. Spinning on my heel I moved towards the redhead and knelt down to check for a pulse, nodding when I found one. I gave her a cursory glance over for wounds, and frowned when I didn't find anything but the rather minor laceration to the forehead, but the blood from the ears was concerning. Concussion? Shock? Exhaustion?

Fuck if I knew, I wasn't a doctor.

Either way, it wasn't safe here, so time to move them inside, and wait for the people out front to defend against the siege. When I leaned down to put my arms under the small girl I was forced to disengage and guard my head as a flurry of footsteps rapidly approached my back. I found myself under a hail of rather ineffectual blows from the girl that had been leaning against the wall, while she shrilly shouted at me, "Get your grubby mitts off of her!" I relented and stepped back blinking at her in disbelief as she stood between me and the downed girl with a look of dogged determination.

I mean, it was a good display of camaraderie and friendship and what-not, but this wasn't a great time for it. I gestured at the decomposing corpse with a flap of my hand and decided not to waste time, "We need to move! These things can climb the side of the building, not mention that they just appear from the shadows at the worst times," I groaned when she just squared up more and narrowed her eyes at me, letting my hands fall to my sides in defeat. That was probably the worst part about having the compulsion that I did, looking like a Goon through and through. Raggedy Clothing, scratches and scars on my face, and not exactly a suave prince charming here to cart off the princesses to safety.

"Who are you?" The brunette questioned instead, but I saw some of the fight leave her as she realize the situation, her brown eyes filled more with caution than hostility now. Thank God for small miracles.

"My name's Jericho, and I'm just some unlucky fuck who's out of his league," In every conceivable way in this situation. Literally, My basic plan was to topple the Spider of the side of the building somehow and hope the drop killed it. Not exactly at my best here, but at least I was fucking trying, and not snapping at everyone I met along the way. I moved to try and carry the girl again, but stopped when a familiar chittering began to climb in intensity, and I saw an inky black shadow the size of a minivan move over the edge of the Roof. Frowning I pointed at the unconscious lady on the ground, "I'll keep them off of you, Okay? Good," I ordered without giving her a chance to respond I picked up the redhead and slumped her over her shoulder.

The brunette grunted before also noticing the fact that we had company, and according to the sounds of combat still coming from down below, we were on our own. "You're gonna stay?" I shrugged and stayed silent, as I was behaving a tad bit hypocritically, as I had said almost the same exact thing to the guy, _aki- something or other_, minutes ago, but this was a tad different. The big monster that had raised from the shadow was a Stag Beetle that made the roof shake with every step that it took, and I had no doubts that it could and would knock down the door with ease, allowing small monsters to get in, even if it was unable itself. So I nodded distractedly as three other puddles formed on the roof, before shooing her away. She kicked the gun that was by her foot forwards, "If you want to live, you'll use that. Good luck."

I picked it up and bodily shoved her with my free hand towards the door while keeping my eyes on my enemies as the shadows closed in, yelling over my shoulder, "What if it doesn't work?!" I heard her stop somewhere behind me before moving on without another word. The silence was telling. '_This better **fucking** work,_' I thought morosely as I slammed the Door Closed, hearing a tell-tale click of a lock come from the mechanism, and baring my teeth in anticipation as I eyed up my four enemies.

I looked at the Gun before stowing it into my waistband with a look of disgust, knowing that I was too weak to trust it blindly. Too cowardly to even consider taking my life with any other options on the table. Instead I brandished my covered fist and sighed, realizing how much of a pain in the ass this was going to be. My eyes took in the space I had to fight in, a space about fifty feet by fifty feet if I wanted, or needed, to be risky with the edges of the Roof.

Deciding that even if the Monsters were willing to crawl menacingly towards me, I wasn't having it. The feeling at the base of my neck returned and I launched myself forwards towards the Puddle that oozed towards me on the left, providing a standing kick to the mask in the center of the mass sending it jiggling backwards, but I had very limited time to incapacitate the thing. Even as I had kicked the other two puddles had surged forward, while the Beetle sluggishly turned towards me to trundle in the new direction.

With a grimace I dove into the mass of black that absorbed all light and gripped the mask with both hands, tugging at it with all my strength. I felt the tendons in my neck straining and all of my blood rushing to my face against the strain while I ignored the limbs that whacked and sliced at my back. Just when I thought I would give out the mask popped off with a sound not unlike a jar being opened, and I turned and whipped the mask off the side of the building. Not even bothering to see what had happened, whether I had accomplished nothing or had blinded the thing or even killed it, I launched myself forward into a roll as the other puddles reached my location, surging over the Puddle that now laid inert under them.

I stared at it uncomprehendingly for a second before a wicked smile appeared on my face. The masks were a weak point? I could work with that. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted the big Beetle and gauged how long I had before dashing in again, my Chain flashing as I swung it through the arms of another, before scything it back through the main mass. As it tried to recuperate I jumped onto the other Puddle and used the momentary distraction to tear at the other ones mask, though this one put up a much more concerted resistance now that it seemed to have realized my Aim. It sprouted even more arms to slice and stab at me, and tried to pull its mask into its mass, but I was having none of that.

My hands grabbed it by the eye holes of the mask just before it disappeared and yanked until the son of a bitch popped off. Once again I turned towards the edge of the roof and threw it off, just trying to buy time at this point. I couldn't hear anymore sounds of battle down below, so I assumed that they were on their way.

Unfortunately for me, I had either miscalculated the speed of the Beetle or the defense of the Puddle had prolonged me a second too long, for as I whirled around I found myself on the receiving end of a charge. The Chitinous feet pounded into the Concrete of the Roof, leaving dents as it moved forwards, before slamming into me with its massive Red-Purple horn. The blow drove the wind from me and the Three prongs at the End of the Horn were driven forward into my chest with a sickening crunch that I figured were either my ribs or my organs. I was thrown as the creature rose up on its hind legs and tossed me forward landing and bouncing until my head hit the edge of the rooftop.

The feeling at the base of my neck flared as I stared at the Beetle slowly making its way towards me, almost seeming cautious of me even as I lay there spitting up blood. If I hadn't had this night? I'd have agreed that being cautious around me when I appeared injured was a good policy, but after running around, fighting monsters and watching gods fire Lightning at things? I was a little deflated. Instead I decided that if the son-of-a-bitch wanted to kill me so bad, I'd take him with me.

**Or die trying**.

I yelled out in pain as I turned over and pulled the Gun from my waistband, flopping and struggling to at least look my killer in the face as it made its way towards me. It Seemed to realize what I had in my hands, as once it saw it the speed at which it moved tripled and it bore down on me, but I was faster. With a Bloody smile I placed the Gun to the side of my neck and aimed for the spot that had been itching all night, instinct taking over and making the decision for me. I could feel a Dull cold force drape itself across as everything slowed down for me and death came for me.

Instead, I pulled the trigger and felt the Hammer release to strike the firing pin of the Gun. Guess this was it. Time to see whether it worked or not.

The sound of a gong echoed in my head, and I felt the Cold Presence that had descended on me bulge outward, but it stayed strong. With a laugh, I pulled the trigger once more, deciding that life had truly fucked me on this one, and the Cage, for it could be described as nothing else, buckled under the second blow. As the Beetle got within mere feet of me I pulled the trigger a third time, deciding that if that didn't work, then I was stuck.

And my fate was to be gored and trampled by a giant demon bug.

The third time the hammer struck I felt the Cold cage break apart and buckle outwards, as though the blow came from inside it, from where I was. And then with a sound akin to Rent Metal a figure burst forth from seemingly nowhere in front of me to meet the Beetle in battle. The first thing that appeared was a pair of hands, that were grey and reflected the light of the disturbed moon, that gripped onto the edges of reality, looking to me like it was pulling itself from a painting or a piece of paper into reality. A head followed it, Clad in the leathers of a bear as it tore itself free from the confines of whatever cage I had unlocked. Around its wrists and ankles were Chains made of the same black of the Puddles and Monsters I had been facing all night, but with a mighty labor it tore them free to fall forwards.

It spilt forth into the world, not with the ethereal grace of the First Figure I had spied, nor with the lethal precision of the Second.

No, it appeared from nowhere to land awkwardly with a crash on its hands and knees in front of me before stumbling to its full height. There was a rush of wind that came off of it to ruffle my hair out of my eyes and blow my jacket taut across my body before settling down, as it rushed forward brutally to catch the Beetle by its horn and hold it firm. I could feel it in my head, not asking me what I wanted to do with it, but what we wanted to do with it.

'_The answer is simple,_' I thought groggily, '_I want it dead._'

With a roar it pushed forward, its strength sending the Beetle skidding back under its assault, before the Horn of the Beetle Snapped in its hands, and then the figure proceeded to throw the mask away and savagely beat on the corpse of the monster until it turned to paste. I watched it blurry eyed, before ignoring its meltdown and watching as the holes on my chest slowly closed themselves up and my chest, which was crushed inwards in a rather disturbing manner, began to reinflate with shuddering motions. Every so slowly and painfully my ribs realigned and I stopped bleeding.

With a start I looked up at the lack of sound on the roof, noticing the form of my Persona standin- '_my what?_' I tasted the word on my tongue and hated how natural it sounded to just know what it was. I shouldn't, but I did. I frowned at it, and it mirrored my emotion from the recesses of its Bear headed Hood with red glowing eyes, but I felt no fear.

Only annoyance.

"**I art thou,**" it intoned as the gong sounded once more in my head, "**Thou art I, and I am Berserker, Pillar of Ferocity. Call upon me when thou needest help.**" And with its part stated, the figure let out one last roar into the night. I watched transfixed, before just as suddenly as this whole thing had started the Night sky returned to its normal dark blue tint. I rolled my head back and saw that not only was the Moon no longer Yellow-Green, it was once again a normal distance away. I closed my eyes and sighed in relief, wondering whether the first person who saw me would notice anything odd in the world and I had finally gone insane, or if I had just fallen in and out some bizarre dream world.

But, that didn't matter much. The danger had passed, and I was alive. As I stood my ribs protested, but the pain was enough to remind me that I was indeed still alive. With a tired smile I stood straight and moved towards the Door. I was happy to note that there was still evidence of the fight, in the dents and general destruction the Beetle had caused to the Roof, wondering in a panic if whoever owned this building would try and make him pay for it. '_I barely had enough for a week in a hotel room, let alone a rooftop renovation,_' I cried out in dismay in my mind, before I came to a startling memory that made it even worse, '_All of which was in my Backpack._' A second of contemplation passed before the logical conclusion appeared in the thought's place, '_Fuuuuuck._'

The little voice in the back of my head whispered out, just to rub it in, 'What happened to accepting death? You seemed so sure only a moment ago?'

I could only grumble in response. I pulled out my trusty pocket knife and moved to unlock the door again, before staring at it as I realized it was now the only thing I owned. Outside of a stolen chain. Glumly I sighed and unlocked the Door anyways, pulling it open and Stepping back into the building.

Fuck my life.

* * *

_End of Chapter._

* * *

_Alright, First Chapter done after the Prologue, time to figure out a consistent schedule to update by. I'm thinking every first and third week of the month. After posting the Prologue because on a whim, I've decided to keep going until I run out of imagination, because I forgot how fun this story was to write._

_Combat heavy chapter, and it truly is a mind-boggling scenario that the Persona series gifted us with, what with the Dark Hour and Gods appearing because you shoot yourself in the head. I hope my character has established itself in the reader's mind a bit as something a bit different to the usual persona Character. And next Chapter I'll give you the stats and skills of his Persona in the Note, but you should be able to gather a bit of what it has just from this chapter._

_Other than that, please leave a review with questions or comments. I try to reply punctually._

_Alright, Jericho Out._


	3. Intro Arc: TMI

**April 10th 2009, 0000 Hours.**

After the night that she had been subjected to, there was nothing that she could conjure up in her head that would have worried her more than what she had encountered after fighting a veritable horde of Shadows and rushing back into the lobby of the Dormitory; Yukari carrying an unconscious Hamuko down the stairs, crying out for help. "Hamuko?" She blurted out in her confusion as she made her way towards them, but Yukari shook her head.

"There's someone fighting on the roof, and I don't know if he has The Potential or not. He needs help!" She feverishly spoke at her as she dragged the limp body of her friend forwards, Mitsuru taking a step back from the intensity. Yukari had never been this livid before, at least not around her.

"And you left him there to fight? _Alone_?" She asked in bewilderment, momentarily relieved by the shifting of the World around them as the Dark Hour passed, the familiar feeling bringing along with it the euphoria of another night survived, which was an honest accomplishment this time. She turned around when the Front door opened and a haggard Akihiko entered behind her, looking considerably more banged up than her, but thankfully still breathing. Which was more than what she feared could be said for the newcomer, who had apparently been left behind to deal with Shadows on his own.

"One of us had to get Hamuko down from the roof, a-and…" Yukari shuddered as her eyes became lost for a moment, before she shook herself out of it, "I was shaking, couldn't even aim right. Managed to pull the trigger, but I could barely look at the thing before it knocked me aside. Hamuko had to fend off the first Shadow, and then _Jericho_ the ones that followed," She admitted with a frown as she placed the girl down on the sofa. She slumped down in a chair to her left, looking down at her feet. Mitsuru knew well the hesitation that crawled through people when they were faced with the shadows, and she had known that Yukari would have trouble as well. The interesting part of that was the fact that Hamuko had less of a hard time.

She was just glad that she was still alive.

A thousand scenarios flashed through her head as the story that Yukari had laid out came to a focus in her head, and none of them looking good. She was drawn from her thoughts at the sounds of something shuffling down the Stairs, and the post-Battle jitters had her nerves still running high. "Akihiko!" She snapped as she turned around with her weapon half-drawn, but he was already moving without needing her to tell him to. She followed his form as he ran to the foot of the stairs and her eyes widened as she took in the young man that was covered head to toe in blood and muck. His eyes were dull and tired as he looked around the room, with a cautious and practiced motion that kept her on guard, before locking onto a particular door. He shoved the Evoker into Akihiko's Chest with a meaty _thump_ before clumsily rushing towards the Bathroom door with a worried expression on her face.

The moment the door was closed, the sounds of retching erupted from the portal with an intensity that made every conscious person in the lobby wince. Yet another thing she remembered vividly, the nausea that afflicted most people upon their first entrance to the Dark Hour. She grimly nodded to herself as she began to prepare herself for the young man… _Jericho, according to Yukari_, and his probable questions.

She raised an eyebrow as the sounds from the bathroom got louder, before deciding that he might be a while, and that she had a few more pressing questions for Yukari, "Hamuko fought off the First Shadow?" Her gaze had always got an odd response from Takeba, but it seemed that the night had either drained her enough or distracted her enough that she was unable to flinch underneath her eyes. Instead she met her gaze head on, with a solemn look on her face and a nod.

"She awakened her Persona, but even before the thing was fully formed a second Persona tore itself free from it," She shuddered at the memory, "It was horrifying. The noises that it made as it climbed out the original one's Throat." She wrapped her arms about herself and scrunched her eyebrows together as she stared at the Bathroom door, "The Shadow was quick though, too quick. It looked panicked, feverish in its movements, and when she was summoning it knocked her around a bit. She was barely standing upright when the thing went down," She looked towards the Slumbering girl with concern, "Mitsuru, d'you think she'll be alright?"

She frowned in response, turning to Akihiko to motion into the Boy's Bathroom, before kneeling down besides her new charge and checking her pulse. She didn't even have to look his way to know not only that he was going to follow the order, but the grimace that would be on his face before he went in. After a moment she relented, finding her pulse to be strong and steady, she then checked the shallow abrasion at her hairline, which was also surrounded by a steadily darkening bruise. She Grimaced before pulling out the Burner phone her Father had given her for these exact situations from her shirt pocket, noting in her head that she wasn't getting any sleep tonight.

After all of this she still needed to watch the Security Tapes of the roof.

She dialled in the Number for the Head of ER at the _Kirijo funded_ Hospital, who she knew would be able to get Hamuko checked out discreetly and without questions asked. She turned towards the Stairs as the shaky legs of their "Supervisor" descended with a terrified expression on his face. His eyes looked about the Lobby in a very different way than the unfortunate bystander's had, not with a calm sweep but with a sporadic hopping of the eyes that latched onto anything that stuck out. Like a Rabbit searching for the Wolf, he only settled down after he had thoroughly checked every corner of the room even though she was clearly visible in the middle of the room.

"What a hectic night," He sighed in relief as he walked in on unsteady legs, cold sweat visible on his brow. Mitsuru wanted to say that she understood the fear, since he was without a Persona or means to fight the Shadows, but she knew in the back of her mind that there were others that encountered the Dark Hour without the power of Persona at their backs. They still fought the fear and tried to defend themselves or understand what they were dealing with.

Ikutsuki was just a coward, she had decided the moment that she had laid eyes upon him.

There was nothing _wrong_ with that, technically, but she had almost no respect for the man. A lackey of her Father's that happened to be able to access the Dark Hour and had been offered a Job acting as the PR Manager of the SEES. He was here to do a job, one that was difficult no doubt, but he acted like he was doing something important by hiding from danger so effectively. Yet again, she had to remind herself that not everyone was a warrior. The only respect that she actually held for him was the fact that he was exceptional with the theoretical side of the Dark Hour, and gathered information extremely well for the Kirijo Group to study.

Without a moment's thought she shoved the Phone into his hands as it began to ring, "Get an Ambulance over here, _Quietly_, to move Hamuko to the Hospital. She needs the full _check-up_," She ordered without any room for argument. There was an unconscious girl to get treated, no time for squabbling.

She internally lamented her lack of Triage Training, resolving to remedy that when she had the chance.

Ikutsuki nodded quickly, placing the phone to his ear with a resolute "Of course," before rushing off with one last look at the Sleeping girl, whose breathing was deep and rhythmic without even a twitch in her frame as she lay there. If she didn't have the bit of blood on her face, which looked like Yukari had tried to wipe off, Mitsuru would've assumed she was just asleep.

"Ah yes, Dr. Soujima? I have…" spoke the well-mannered chairman as he walked outside, and Mitsuru wondered how he'd react to the veritable destruction outside. He had her phone so he'd be able to handle it, most likely by making up a fake story about a Gas Main exploding under the street or something like that to call into her Father, as well as giving him a report of the activities of the night. She knew she was trying to distract herself from the mess that had been made, from how disastrous that it could have been, and how unable she was to help someone that had been injured under her watch, someone that she had been against keeping in the dark from the beginning.

She was given something that she could actually do instead of standing around being useless when the Bathroom door opened and Akihiko lead the bloody young man out of the Room. The broader of the two wiped at his lips before deciding that there wasn't any reason to waste time and addressed the room at large, "The fuck was that?"

Akihiko snorted in response as he moved towards the couches, but seeing that he was dead on his feet, she decided to pity him and spare him the lack of sleep. After all, he was a much more physical fighter than her, and the strain showed. She poked him in the shoulder and raised an eyebrow when the action almost knocked him over, "Get some rest, I'll stay up and wait for the Ambulance myself," She intensified her look when he made to protest, but he relented after a mere moment. He must have been worse off than she thought, to let her do anything by herself without much of a fight. She sat down in the chair to the left of Takeba and gestured at her as well, "You too. The first night is always the most draining. We'll talk more about this tomorrow, after you've had your rest and time to recover."

Yukari sent one last concerned look the way of Hamuko and then making eye contact with her as well, and Mitsuru could see a bit of remorse on her face before she stood with a yawn and moved to follow her senior, throwing an unconfident "Good Night" over her shoulder as she left. With that done, ignoring the amusing muffled squawks of Ikutsuki as he observed the ransacked street, it left her, her slumbering charge, and the Newcomer.

She looked up to where he had been standing, but found him gone, now slouched over what remained of the bag he had been hiding behind when she first saw him. A heavy sigh fell from his lips as he picked through what was essentially a pile of ashes at this point before standing up with a look of irritation on his face. His eyes met hers briefly, and the irritation vanished as a small exhausted smile appeared in its place, "Finally ready to talk?" Despite the obvious exhaustion, she could see a twinkle of mischief in his eyes… _eye_, she corrected herself with a wince as she got a better look at him. His face had been scrubbed when he was in the bathroom so she could actually see his face, but she hadn't noticed that while his left eye was a Golden Brown the right was filled with lifeless and glassy gray fog. He had a head of Brown hair that was cropped close on the sides, but longer on the top in a rather chaotic manner, but she couldn't exactly fault him for that at the moment. Suntanned, but crisscrossed with small lighter lines of scars running up and down his visible skin, with broad shoulders and standing at maybe an inch taller than Akihiko, so five foot ten at most.

All in all, he wasn't an inspiring sight. In fact, had he not appeared during the Dark Hour she was certain that she wouldn't have taken notice of him beyond his obvious rough edges. Just another thug in her Family's Domain, who looked to have been put through the wringer one too many times.

"My name is Mitsuru Kirijo," She introduced herself belatedly, "The young man with Grey hair was Akihiko Sanada, the girl with Brown hair was Yukari Takeba, and the young lady on the couch is Hamuko Arisato. Not ideal circumstances to have this talk, but I have nothing better to do while I wait for the Hospital to send someone over."

"Jericho Ruadh," He responded in kind with a crooked smile at her response to his last name, "As you probably noticed, I ain't from Japan. The name isn't either." She nodded at the assessment, agreeing that the odd name was most definitely native. _Ruey_? She questioned internally, wondering to herself what it meant and where it was from. He leaned over the back of the chair across from her staring steadily at her patiently, but from what she could see, his entire body was loose and ready to move, like a giant spring coiled and ready to move at a moment's notice.

He was standing two feet from the door, and from how his eyes were pinned to her even as he smiled benignly he knew exactly where it was and looked ready to use it at a moment's notice. An odd mixture of confidence, caution, and trust. Not only did he think where he was standing was dangerous, he _knew_ that she was, but he seemed to believe that he would be capable of evading danger. Arrogance? Experience?

Only time would tell.

A part of her wanted to make him relax, but the events of the night played in her mind, and she could not blame him for being anxious, so instead she opened with a question, "Very well. Why didn't you stay in the Lobby like I told you to, why go to the Roof instead? By all accounts you should be dead, running into danger like that, Mr… _Rui_," she winced internally at what was most likely a butchering of his name, but he didn't seem bothered by it.

"Close. Saw a big Monster Climb up there when I was outside, and I remembered that I hadn't mentioned it to you or that other guy before I ran off. Figured that I should clean up my mess, or die trying," He spoke with an easy confidence that was at odds with what he was saying, and she gave him a bizarre look in response, "But I'm pretty good at scraping by. Surviving bad situations is a Hobby of mine."

"Clearly," She motioned towards his thin coating of blood, "You need to get better at it."

His cheeks reddened as he stared down at his jacket, "Well, in my defence, I've never had to fight Monsters before, next time will be easier," The certainty of the statement gave her pause, but before she could consider it the twinkle in his eye suddenly vanished, and despite his slumped posture and easy smile, she could tell that he was taking the conversation seriously, "I'd love an explanation for that, by the way. I would like to know what's going on around here."

She met his eye steadfastly, wondering where the steel in his voice had come from. It wasn't often you found someone solid enough of mind to bounce back so quickly. She could still smell bile after all. Looking him over to take in the deadly intensity that he seemed to exude, she decided that underestimating him wasn't a good idea. After a moment she shamelessly stole from the Chairman for her opener, "Would you believe me if I said there were more than twenty-four hours in a day?"

It was the question he asked any of those that had been tested for Potential, including Yukari, before explaining the situation to them.

His smile dropped a bit as he gave her a blank look, before checking the watch on his wrist, and grunted, "You don't look like the joking type, so I assume you're saying that there are. You don't need to waste time for my sake, lay it on me. I'm a big boy, I can take it," He absent-mindedly rubbed at the screen of the watch with the thumb of his left hand, and she filed the odd behavior away for later.

She nodded in acceptance, smoothing out her skirt on her lap as she tried to find the correct way to put things. She was much better at writing speeches, making plans, and then following them to the letter than she was speaking on the fly. "There is a hidden hour, in between midnight and the first minute of the next day. Only a select handful can experience it, even less can survive it, and even fewer have within them the means to thrive in it. Those unaware are Transmogrified into Black Coffins until the hour is passed while those aware run free," She decided to just throw caution to the wind and be more direct, as he seemed to be reacting well to it, "You said before that Akihiko had summoned a God, which isn't _strictly _true, but functionally its the same thing. From our Minds we can summon the masks we use to navigate the world to aid us in battle to defeat the monsters, which we call Shadows, that inhabit this hidden hour, which we call the Dark Hour. Those that cannot protect themselves are feasted upon by the Shadows and left husks of what they once were, which the public has labeled as "Apathy Syndrome" in the vacuum of information around the effects. The three of us, and hopefully Arisato when she wakes up, make up the only organized group of people actively fighting and defending people from the Shadows and try to end the Dark Hour once and for all. Our group is called SEES, Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, and masquerades as a school club as all of our members are of high school age."

Instead of reacting skeptically he only nodded solemnly, keeping his sights fixed on her as she spoke. The amount of leniency that he was giving her was… _unnatural_. No one should take a stranger's word as law, but he seemed content to let her continue on, only interrupting once he had decided upon the relevant information, that he could verify, before saying anything. He spoke, his scratchy voice hoarse from the night of running and fighting, "I summoned my _persona_ on the roof, and it made pretty short work of those Shadow things. Seems useful, seeing as they eat people's minds," either not caring about or deciding that all of the rest of her words weren't as important as the information on how to survive the Dark Hour.

She was used to ranting and raving, maybe depressed silence at the thought of an army of horrors preying on people in the night, but he took it calmly and without denial. She tried to place the look, but found herself coming up short. It was vaguely familiar, but out of her grasp. Nor did it resemble the Odd lack of concern from Arisato when she had calmly walked into the Dorm during the Dark Hour, despite having undoubtedly seen evidence of something supernatural going on. _Ruadh_ seemed to be taking this deadly seriously, rightly so in her mind. Most that she had seen responded to it like it was a passing nightmare that would be gone in the morning.

They didn't survive long.

She simply nodded in response to his words, "That saves us the trouble of testing you to see whether or not you have the potential, at least. Now that leaves one last issue that determines what happens next," She spoke carefully, even as tension appeared in his shoulders, "Why are you in Tatsumi Port Island?" Now, contrary to what she had said, she had many other questions, ranging from who he was, how he was able to survive a fight with Shadows without a Persona, and how he had at least two quarts of blood on his shirt but seemed to be still living, but she decided that those could be answered at another time.

He blinked at her before turning to look at the remains of his smoldering Backpack with a scowl, before his face brightened considerably and he dug through his pants pocket to produce a folded up piece of paper. "I got an invitation to that fancy school on the Island, and since I had other business to attend to in Iwatodai, I thought I'd enroll," with a flourish he unfurled the piece of paper, which tore halfway down the middle in his hands. She raised an eyebrow at the sight, as to her eyes, it seemed that it had torn for no discernible reason, but he just sighed before fixing the paper correctly. "I made it here three days later than I thought I would, so I was already late. Not that it matters," he grumbled glumly as he stared at the torn paper, "Without all the paperwork from my crash school I'm not getting in anyways."

"Why don't you-?" she began to ask with concern, before the faint smell of smoke caught her attention, and she blinked in realization. She sat a little taller in her seat as she realized why that was."It was in your bookbag?" She asked for confirmation, and received a slow nod in return.

"Along with everything else I own," He explained with his tired smile before the corners of his lips turned downwards, "_Owned_. Which, uh, reminds me. I may have fucked up the roof, a tad bit," He admitted with a wince as his hands were clasped together in front of him, "And my money situation is not looking good. I, uh, I have no idea how to pay for that. I want to," he reassured fervently, "Just don't know how."

She was the one to smile this time, as the earnest way that he seemed to wear his emotions was a far cry from most of the People in SEES. "I'm sure the... _insurance money _will cover the repairs," She responded instead, schooling her face back into its usual placid state as he gave her a confused look.

"Uh, are Monster attacks covered under an Act of God claim?" He responded critically, but their conversation was cut short by Ikutsuki opening the door and interrupting the surprisingly easy conversation to have.

"The Ambulance has arrived, Miss Kirijo," He announced politely, and despite the interruption she was grateful that he had come through on his end, "And now, if you'll excuse me, I think I need to go home, take a shower, and sleep for the next two days straight," He laughed with an underlying hint of hysteria before simply walking back outside with a wave.

Mitsuru shook her head in response, and stood as the two Paramedics walked in. They immediately spied the Bloody form of Jericho, but he frowned and waved them away pointing to the girl comatose on the couch, "_Her, you dumbasses! Do I look like a little girl to you?_" They moved away from him with hands held up placatingly, before moving towards Arisato to begin examining her.

Mitsuru watched, unsure of why she needed to see them actually checking her to believe it, and only breathed a sigh of relief when the Paramedic announced that he couldn't find anything too pressing other than the head wound. She moved to follow after the stretcher when the walked out of the front door, before stopping next to Jericho. "There are unoccupied rooms on the second floor and Showers for you to use, as well as some spare uniforms that you can probably fit into. You are welcome to make use of them," She narrowed her eyes as she thought about how heavy handed to be with him before deciding that she may as well go all in. "And I can get you into Gekkoukan, if you truly wish it."

He looked happy for a moment before he narrowed his eyes, and she had to say that the suspicious look didn't exactly look like it belonged on his face, which looked more natural with a smile on it. "I mean, that's great and all, but what's the catch?"

"I will not lie to you," She said with a frown, "If I get you into Gekkoukan, it will be under the expectation that you are joining SEES. To Fight with us," She stated imperiously, not really knowing enough about him to know how he'd respond. Yukari had been a wild card, but Mitsuru had assumed that she was trying to learn more about her Father, who had been... involved with the Dark Hour from the Start. Akihiko? She had simply mentioned that it would be a good fight and he was on board almost immediately. But she had never strong armed anyone into fighting, but after the night she was having some doubts about the manpower they had available.

_Two in Harmony Surpasses One in Perfection_ after all. Wasn't the Family Motto about the power of Numbers? She was sure that her father would agree, before telling her to stop worrying about it. If he agreed then he agreed, he didn't then he didn't. His choice.

A moment of silent contemplation before he stuck out his hand for her to shake on it, "I was on board when you said people were gettin' chomped on," He spoke with a wide smile, looking truly happy with the outcome, "I'll fight your battles, kill your monsters. All that good stuff."

She eyed his hand suspiciously, but the results of the night spoke for themselves. And he was a Persona-User, which wasn't something to be scoffed at. Before she shook his hand, she decided to try his own tactic out for herself, "And why put the choice in my hands? You aren't in a good position to be bargaining with me, or anyone really."

"No Bargaining, I would fight even if you didn't let me in your club," He responded glibly, "My mind wouldn't let me sleep until I tried to help. But this?" He said as he shook his hand in front of her face, "You shake my hand, it's a promise. And I keep my promises, I guarantee that. It's in my blood," He held his hand out, and she didn't know what piece of the puzzle she was missing, but she was sure she'd find out eventually. Another odd man out to join the fight, she supposed. Even if he wasn't great at fighting, which didn't look likely with how he handled himself, she could find some use for him.

She grabbed his hand, which she noted almost covered hers entirely, and shook heartily. In for a penny, in for a pound. "You have two weeks to recover and prepare before we go on an expedition, but I'll make sure Akihiko takes you out on a patrol before then to run you through the basics."

"Alright," He agreed with a nod, standing up straight before nodding to her, "Imma get a shower. When can you get me in to the School, Next Week or so?"

"Tomorrow morning, be downstairs by six," She replied imperiously, "I'll... _convince_ them to let you in, and then you can officially join the club, I can sign you up for residence in this dorm, and everything else will be taken care of."

"Oh Six Hundred hours?" He asked as he walked away, "Understood. See you in the morning, Lady."

She shook her head before heading out the waiting Ambulance, hopping in before it began to move. As she sat in contemplative silence, she realized where she had seen some of his mannerisms before, with his manner of Time keeping pointing it out to her quicker than anything else, but the insistence on keeping a promise and fighting _her_ fights made it clear.

He saw himself as an interloper intervening on her behalf.

She had just enlisted a mercenary to fight a War.

* * *

I huffed a sigh as I lay back on the borrowed bed and tried to ignore how natural it felt to sleep in a bed that I didn't own, let alone recognize. If The Promise was upheld, it seemed that a room like this was to be mine for the foreseeable future, and I was guaranteed a way to tide over my Mind by doing a consistent good deeds and keep the insistent nagging of my Hero Complex quiet for the time being.

I didn't trust it for a second, of course.

Call me pessimistic, but I had a feeling that my Luck would rear its head sooner rather than later and they'd run me out of town soon after. '_But_,' I thought as I looked around the darkened room before throwing my hands up behind my head with a sigh, '_This isn't the worst way to waste time_.' Hell, when they got tired of me, I wouldn't stop doing what I was raised to do. I'd just be fighting alone.

"_It's our job, Pup_," My Dad had said many times, "_Find something to fight for, and then fight relentlessly. Whether that's a Job, Goal, or Person, you need a reason to fight, or you'll rage without a reason. Which is __**ass **__for everyone Involved. Remember, Son, __**Don't be a dick**__._"

The words of my Father soothed my mind even as I snorted at the humor in it, and I began to drift off to sleep, feeling once again the buzz of energy at the base of my neck that seemed to indicate my Persona's Presence softly humming into the night. I turned my attention inwards, seeking the source of the comforting feeling, before a tinkling noise tried to stir me from my sleep. I cracked open my good eye, and groaned when I spied a Glowing Blue Butterfly lazily drifting in a circle around my head, the jingling of a bell sounding off with each gentle flap of a wing.

I growl aggressively, the action aggravating my already irritated throat, before grabbing a Pillow from behind my head and whipping it into the air like a flail, which seemed to catch the Butterfly by surprise, for it stalled mid flap before it was swatted out of the air. It sailed through the air of the Borrowed room before impacting the Wall of the room with a jingle and explosion of glowing bluish green dust.

I blew air out of my nose triumphantly before resolutely nodding and laying back into the Bed, fixing the Pillow behind my head.

Serves it right, trying to steal my sleep like that.

The absolute _nerve _of that bug.

I had an appointment at six tomorrow, and I couldn't afford to be late.

* * *

_End of Chapter._

* * *

**Jericho Ruadh [Berserker, Hanged Man] Level 5;**

**Hp; 180**

**Sp; 7**

**St; 7**

**Ma; 1**

**En; 10**

**Ag; 3**

**Lk; 1**

**Skills;**

**Regenerate 1- Regenerate 2% of max health per round.**

**Sharp Student- Lowers user's chance of sustaining a critical hit.**

* * *

_Ruadh (Pronounced; "Roo-Ay")._

_For the record, I'm Taking a round of combat to mean about thirty seconds, which means that he regens 4 Hp every 30 seconds at this level, a single Hp every eight. This is mostly a healing method to be used after battles, and without reliance on Sp as he will have almost none. This character is going to mainly be a melee fighter, with very little little persona usage. As his Sp is so low, he will be limited to a single use of it a night for the first bit of the story. The reason for this is that his Persona is mostly a fortifying presence, providing him with Passive skills to help him rush in on his own._

_This means that he trades the burst Damage potential of having an Active Persona with the defensive ability and consistency of a Passive one, with the only way he keeps up being the specialization of his stats being rather Impressive. As is being made clear, he specializes in Survivability as is the Modus Operandi of __**Hanged Man**_ _Persona across all games._

_Either way, now that the introductions are out of the way, Jericho can now begin his conquest, and the next Chapter will be His rather unorthodox style of becoming acquainted with the area, probably the two weeks of the "Protagonist's" Coma ending with her awakening in the next chapter._

_Alright, Review if you got any comments, good or bad._

_Jericho Out._


	4. Intro Arc: Gearing Up

**April 10th 2009, 0530 Hours. Iwatodai Dorm.**

* * *

I rose long before the sun, much as I had for most of my life, and regretted it immediately, _much as I had for most of my life_. I wish there was a part of myself that still clung to sleep in the morning, but like trying to hold sand the tighter I gripped the faster it left. I sighed into the still air of the Dorm room before lurching to my feet and stumbling over to the closet on the far side of the room. I clumsily pulled on the first uniform that fit me, cuffing the pants before stuffing them into my boots and trading the jacket for a larger one to fit my shoulders.

I paused as I pulled it on, before turning to my left and spying a mirror hanging on the wall that I hadn't seen last night… but it was late and it was on my bad side when I had stumbled into the room so that wasn't a big deal.

No, the bigger issue was that instead of my ugly mug staring back at me out of the thing, the rather gruesome visage of my persona took my place. The Head of a bear pelt laid across his head, acting like a hood that threw darkness across its head, obscuring everything except for its glowing red eyes and sharpened yellow teeth that were stretched into a demented grin. Its hands rested on the opposite sides of the mirror and it seemed to have to lean its bulk down to the portal to see me. Its arms and body was covered in what could have been considered scars, had it been flesh. Instead he had large furrow scraped out of his metal body, leaving lighter trails in skin that was otherwise the color of graphite.

Not knowing what else to do, and not really feeling threatened, I waved at him. Unsurprisingly he copied my movement on the other side of the mirror exactly, and I watched in fascination as the Black Steel Chain that was wound around his arm and shoulder shook itself loose near his wrist before winding itself back into place as though it had a life of its own. And then, in typical _me_ fashion, he made the motion for "_I'm-watching-you_" by pointing at his eyes with two fingers before pointing at my face with one. As I gave him the stink eye he disappeared in a swirl of grey shards of light, leaving me staring at my own half-blind face.

After a moment of contemplation I chuckled at the bizarre occurrence, wondering why he wasn't simply speaking in my head like he had last night, before moving out of the room and making my way downstairs. Maybe, as he is a part of me, Berserker was simply a menace that delighted in being a jackass, so I might as well ignore his antics for now. I clomped down the stairs with a lack of grace that was intentional, using the noise and impact to jar me faster into alertness. I tried to zip up the uniform jacket, but could only shake my head in consternation when the Slider popped off immediately.

I looked up from the small piece of metal in my hand when a smell hit me, and I was greeted by the sight of the Kirijo Lady hanging her head over a cup of Tea, looking for all the world to be asleep on her feet. But the moment I made it within ten feet of her, like I had triggered some tripwire without knowing it, her eyelids shot open and I found sharp reddish-brown eyes locked onto me. I quirked an eyebrow at the fact that she hadn't noticed me until I was this close, despite the racket I had made on the stairs, and the white knuckled grip she had around her cup.

For a moment I was concerned about her throwing the steaming tea into my face just as a base reaction, before the rigidity left her shoulders and she huffed a sigh into her cup. '_Uh, right. Small talk,_' "Rough night?" I questioned, noting the lack of energy in her form. If I was tired, then she was dead on her feet.

"Yes," She responded, not even trying to hide it, "Arisato is still in the hospital, due to a mixture of her Exhaustion caused by her first Summoning and her Head wound, in a… Coma. There is no other way to describe it, and despite the Doctor's assurances that she'll be alright I am still worried," She shook her head, as though she had been trying to avoid thinking about it.

"Naturally," I returned, not faulting her for it in the slightest, "Did you get any sleep? At all?"

"No," she clinked the porcelain mug in her hand with the nails before nodding at another on the counter, "But that is why I made Tea. I made a cup for you as well, knowing that sleep is hard for most to come by after the Dark Hour."

I grimaced before picking up the thing as memories of the taste of dirt that seemed to be imbued into tea, "I slept well enough, actually. Full night of sleep," With a gulp I tipped the mug to my lips and drained the thing in one big gulp. Times like these I wished that I hadn't been raised to be polite in my father's peculiar way; Follow through on promises, only insult in kind, and _Never waste food and drink_. I scrunched my nose at the taste and smell before placing the mug into the sink on the other side of the Counter, before the very basic manners that had barely managed to be ingrained in my brain reared their head and I nodded in the Lady's direction. "Thanks," I croaked, hoping that the disgust wasn't evident in my voice.

It was.

"Not a fan of tea?" She questioned after she had placed her mug next to mine. She immediately opened up the briefcase on the counter and began rifling through the folders that were stored within. With a flourish she whipped out one before sliding it towards me. When I caught it I saw that My name had been… _attempted_ across the front of the thing, and when I shot a look up at her with a raised eyebrow she explained in a calm and obviously thought out way, "Gekkoukan High opens in an hour, and we have that long to fill out the paperwork."

"Paperwork," I grumbled as I opened the front of the Folder to a stack of about… _forty _pages. I looked up with pleading eyes but she simply gave me an arch expression and held out a pen in my direction.

_Fuuuuuck._

* * *

**April 10th 2009, 0820 Hours. Principal's Office.**

* * *

I did my best to look as non-threatening as possible as I stood next to Mitsuru as she talked to the principal of Gekkoukan, a smaller and portly old man who looked simultaneously happy and peeved that Mitsuru was talking to him. An odd expression. Apparently Mitsuru was bargaining for my position at the school, but if I'm honest I had spent the past ten minutes trying to understand how his voice managed to put me to sleep so efficiently.

After another five minutes of staring straight ahead while trying not to nod off the Old man clapped his hands together, garnering my attention.

"Alright, I understand Miss Kirijo," He said in his droning and low voice, "His paperwork will be processed as quickly as possible, and he is already on the registry for S.E.E.S.," He stood, and I politely ignored the fact that he was almost a foot shorter than me, to extend his hand in my direction with a forced smile for me, "I'm glad to have you here, Mr. Jericho. Anyone recommended by Miss Kirijo must be… Special."

I accepted the handshake with an equally forced smile, "Here's hoping I... live up to your expectations," I watched as he hid a cringe and shook my head as I let go of his hand. He didn't look thrilled to be letting me anywhere near what was a prestigious place of learning, probably because I not only looked like Hell warmed over, but now because I was associated with Mitsuru.

I was pretty used to that reaction at this point, couldn't even blame Mitsuru for this one, I decided as I looked over to the wall at the broken chair that I had sat a little too hard upon entering the room. One of the legs had given out under my weight, but I was able to catch myself before taking a spill to the floor.

Mitsuru stood with a blank expression across her face and nodded in thanks to the man before turning around and walking out. I grabbed the folder that the man held out towards me and followed, speeding up to catch up to the speed-walking woman who began speaking when I appeared at her shoulder, "Takenozuka-sensei is in the Faculty Room at the end of this Hall on the right, he's the Homeroom teacher for our Class, 3-D. Give him your Folder and Follow him to class," She turned over her left wrist and checked the Watch that hung there before continuing, "Speaking of Class, I shall see you there. Wouldn't do for the Class President to be late," She looked at me and narrowed her eyes, "Please don't make a nuisance of yourself between then and now."

"I'll try," I agreed, but the tired young lady just sighed and shook her head as she left apparently not liking my answer. There was a part of me that wanted to say that it wasn't my fault, that things just happened screwy around me and I had no control over it, but the other part was louder as it called me "_A little bitch that needed to get moving_," and I acquiesced to the request.

My hand found the Handle to the Door and easily slid it open, and found eight pairs of wide eyes locked onto my form immediately. I checked out of the corner of my vision that the door was still intact before shrugging and yelling into the room, "Who's Takenozuka?"

Seven hands extended to point at a Man that seemed to shrink into his desk in the back corner of the room under the attention. He was a nervous man, looking around the room with eyes that refused to rest on anything, with dark brown hair that fell neatly to the sides of his head and an impeccable suit that was at odds with his behavior.

I smiled at him, and I swear I saw him start Shivering.

* * *

"We have a new student, class," The teacher said as we both looked out over the large classroom. Quickly I catalogued the Places of people, placing obvious characterizations with positions in my mind like filling up a mental spreadsheet. There were many seats missing around the place, having twenty-two students in a room with thirty seats, and I spied the piece of territory that Mitsuru had claimed in the dead center of the room. Not only was the seat next to her open, but so were the desks behind and in front of her, leaving a crescent of desks that people seemed to have treated like the plague.

Hearing the teacher come to an end of his little monologue and look over at me, I bowed my head ever so slightly and endeavored to keep my face calm and placid as I spoke, "My name is Jericho Ruadh, Feel free to call me Jericho. Nice to meet ya," I felt the right side of my mouth quirk up in a smirk when my eyes landed on the girl directly in front of me and she squeaked in fright.

Dealing with some people was like dealing with bunnies, I was scared if I even breathed wrong they'd have a fucking heart attack.

"V-very well," The teacher valiantly moved ahead, "Take any empty seat."

I nodded in response, and noticed Mitsuru motion her head towards the seat next to her. Deciding that biting the hand that feeds wasn't really in my nature and that she had been helpful so far, I agreed and gently sat myself down on her right so that I could actually see her. I sent a smile at the Teacher and he began to speak about what we'd be doing for the rest of the day.

I quickly settled down into my seat and began to soak it all in, beside myself with excitement that I had actually managed to get into the School _despite _everything going wrong. Had even managed to pull absolutely beautiful marks on the Finals at my Cram school beforehand.

If I were a religious boy, I'd say it was divine intervention.

"Akihiko agreed to give you the crash course tonight," Mitsuru intoned under her breath, still sitting up straight and keeping her eyes on the board as the Teacher began scribbling a few equations down and explained their uses, "So please meet up with him after school so he can get you properly equipped."

I gave her a quick confused look before I realized what she was talking about, "I assume the chain ain't gonna cut it?"

"Not if you wish to survive for long," She responded easily before nodding forwards, "Now pay attention. I will not allow your grades to slip simply because of our extracurricular activities."

With a grumble I agreed and decided to ignore both her and the whisperings of the students around us to hone my attention on the Physics Teacher as he taught.

* * *

**April 10th 2009, 1615 Hours. Train to Iwatodai Station.**

* * *

Yukari was unsurprised that the newest resident of Iwatodai Dorm had managed to spark rumors within his first day at school, because much like Hamuko had only a few days ago, spawning rumors and crushes simply by existing and being a generally nice person. Yukari scoffed in disgust at the thought, the Students in Gekkoukan were truly bored to fixate on the new students so much. At least the few rumors that circulated about Hamuko were either petty or flattering.

"Did you hear that Kirijo got a bodyguard?" The obnoxious boy at her elbow questioned his friends, who hung on his every word.

"Are you serious?" Asked the friend that was sat in the seat in front of him, her eyes bulging out in disbelief, "Why does she need one? I thought her Family basically ran the city."

Internally Yukari laughed at that statement, truer than the girl would ever know. The Kirijo group had its hands in every business in the area, either in the way of investment or insurance. They controlled all of the Local construction companies, so no buildings went up without their permission, and they were the owners of almost all vacant properties in Iwatodai so no business came in without their say-so. They choked out uncooperative businesses through legal and less legal means, all to protect their bottom line.

Of course, most of the public only knew that they had stomped out most of the importation of illicit drugs, had provided emergency relief after the Explosion on the Island ten years ago, and had rebuilt a prestigious Secondary school from the ashes. Didn't see behind the curtain like she had in the last few weeks dealing with S.E.E.S. Places she had always assumed were clean and legal businesses produced weapons and laundered money at unprecedented rates.

And the Minister had the Gall to say that Gang activity was on the decline.

It was just better hidden.

"I heard the Gas main in front of her Private Dorm exploded," added the Last of the Trio of Sophomores in the packed train car, not even bothering to check around for anyone listening, "I can't even imagine having a dorm basically all to myself, Must be the life."

What she wouldn't give to be that trusting.

"Oh yeah, that was on the News this morning," The girl nodded to herself, "My Mom was saying that between that and all of the issues with the Train lines they need to fire Whoever isn't doing their job."

"Pffft," The louder of the two guys waved her off, "I don't know about the Trains, but that wasn't a Gas main, that was an attack," When his two compatriots stared at him disbelievingly he smiled wickedly, obviously happy to have information that they didn't, despite Yukari knowing full well that he was lying, "Oh yeah. How naive can you get? An explosion right outside her front door and then the _next morning_ that Goon shows up? Goons don't protect against _accidents_."

As the other two contemplated the statements Yukari's attention was attracted by the Guffawing of a Male Senior behind her, who barely paused for breath before leaning in to the guy beside him, joy on his face, "He _said_ that? To Mr. _Ekoda?_"

His compatriot laughed just as easily as he held onto the Strap hanging from the ceiling of the Car against the minor Bumpiness of the Train as it rounded a turn, "You should have seen his face, it was a work of art. Like he hadn't expected the guy to actually respond," He rubbed at his neck with his free hand, "Mr. Ekoda decided to use him as an example of what _not _to do, said he was three days late to school and not wearing his Uniform properly. I just don't know what he expected from someone that looks like that, _shyness_?"

"I heard that he's Yakuza, part of the Kirijo Group," Yukari decided to go back to her thoughts, not wanting to listen to such stupid stories over and over again. And when a new story about how he had been in Kyoto last week pulling people out of a bus that he had set on fire she knew that the Gekkoukan Rumor Mill was going to be the death of her.

'_First Hamuko could tell the Future, and now Jericho was some superhero?_' She thought exasperatedly to herself with a shake of her head, '_Give me a break_.'

* * *

**April 10th 2009, 1615 Hours. Alleyway near Paulownia Mall.**

* * *

I stumbled as a fist impacted upon my cheek, blood beginning to drip from my lip and the tingling of swelling erupting near my cheekbone. Another blow fell against the side of my head, before the final third hit my shoulder. I twisted with the punches, letting the impacts slide off as best I could before throwing my own punch in return. The blow landed solidly against the thug's Chest that sent him stumbling back into the wall of the Alley from the force.

He saw me advancing and threw a Kick at my stomach, but I ignored it and surged forward with a roar, grabbing the Delinquent by the front of his Shirt, a Uniform of some School nearby, and slammed the crown of my head into his nose. He fell slack in my arms as he began to blink in a stupor up at the sky, but I had no time to baby him.

Air exploded from my lungs as a metal pipe hit me in the left kidney, and only years of experience and boatloads of willpower kept me from falling unconscious. Instead I lashed out with a vicious elbow and caught him in the jaw, which smashed the end of jaw into the bundle of nerves nested between it and the neck. I staggered backwards as Akihiko laid the last attacker out, and looked over at me with a concerned expression, "You alright?"

"Breathing," I reported with a grimace as the adrenaline began to fade and the dull ache of Blunt Trauma began to radiate throughout my body, "Sorry 'bout that."

"Don't worry about it, It's good practice," He responded casually and stepped through the five raggedly breathing and rapidly recovering delinquents, pausing to kick the instigator of the attack in the stomach, "Does this happen often?"

"Unfortunately," I answered in kind as I stood up straight, already feeling the energy of my Persona washing over my wounds as split knuckles and red skin began to knit itself slowly back together. I flexed my hands in front of my face before turning to my attacker at my feet, who was watching in Horror, before crouching over him and leering into his face. "I go somewhere new and people think I'll be a good trophy, think they can look good by beating my head in," I reached out and slapped him across the face, breaking the calm of Shock and he began to blubber, but I was having none of that and grabbed him by the cheeks to hold him still and make him look at my unblemished nasty visage. "But they're not going to try again," I mused out loud before baring my teeth when he didn't respond and Roaring in his face, "**Right?!**"

He immediately shook his head and Akihiko Chuckled at the display, "Don't stop on my account, I had fun," He admitted with a benign smile on his face, which managed to scare the Delinquent even worse than I had. Someone who easily beaten three of his friends into the Ground and looked hungry for more.

"Fortunately for you," I said as I stood up, "These aren't the only ones with a chip on their shoulder and shitty reasoning skills. More will take their place," I shook my head at the stupidity of it, and finally placed where I had seen this particular guy; the Alley behind Iwatodai Station last night. Must have decided that I was easy prey when I just walked away.

Unfortunately for his health, he was wrong.

"Sounds like a party," He said casually as he walked by and clapped me on the shoulder, "But we still haven't made it to the Mall, so let's move. We still have _Homework_ later on tonight," I groaned at the reminder even if he was trying to speak in code. I had a week's worth of Homework for being late and as Gekkoukan was a College prep School for the most part, they held nothing back.

"Alright," I conceded before following him out into the light of day. I looked to my right and found nothing but nearly jumped out of my skin when I turned to my left and came face to face with a literal zombie. "_Shit_!" I yelped as I hopped back into Akihiko, who huffed a breath as I hit him.

He turned around with a quirked eyebrow before seeing what the fuck I saw and nodding, "Right, you're not from around here. This your first time seeing someone with Apathy Syndrome?" I gave him a look before looking back at the barely breathing woman as she stood leaned against the wall near the entrance to the Alleyway with pale and gaunt skin hanging limply from her face as she stared at nothing. None of that was too different than a heroine addict, except for the fact that her eyes were **pitch black**. I pointed at them and kept up the incredulous stare for lack of words, but he answered the silent question patiently, "Yeah, that's a special treat for those of us that can see the Dark Hour. Ikutsuki says its proof that they're trapped in the Shadows, but that's out of my league. All I know is that most people just see a normal person who looks strung out."

He motioned for me to move away from her, and I did so with a scowl as my mind roared for me to find a way to help her, but this was a biblical plague type shit. The hell was I supposed to do about it? "Why does your mall sell weapons again?" I questioned as we rounded the corner and came upon a much more populated street than the last, with students from Gekkoukan and a few other schools all loitering around and generally having fun. It wasn't the largest of buildings, two stories with one stairway to the higher level with a few clothing stores up there with a few bargain stores mixed in, but the majority of customers were on the first level.

Most of the kids were either grouped around the fountains or kicking it in the Arcade, in groups of two or three as they goofed off and wasted time. Could be learning, could be bettering themselves, could be building something else, but no. Here they were wasting time.

My kind of people. Why take this thing too seriously, find something that makes you happy and follow that to its end. My focus just happened to be helping people and doing things. Those people looked just as happy being a good friend or getting good at a game. Akihiko led me past a few swooning girls, two of which were from my Class, who immediately took a step back after they caught a sight of me. I ignored them in favor of noting the Grocery store that was behind them, next to an antique store, a hallway marked _rest rooms_, and the Police station in the mall.

This one caught my attention as Akihiko was walking directly towards it.

Upon entering it, I found a quaint office, probably more of a storage facility than an actual station with the lack of visible crime in the area. The only Officer in the building was standing behind the desk, and when he turned towards us I was greeted with a stern and stark face underneath his hat, but his voice was rich when he called out to Akihiko, "Sanada, two trips in one week? Did the bow you bought break already?" His eyes hopped to look at me, "Or are you here for my day job and report a crime?"

"Just a bit of blood," I said as I wiped at my cheek, realizing now what I must have looked like walking through the Mall. He grunted in agreement and threw me a rag, which I immediately began to scrub at my face with.

"No, Mitsuru has been increasing our recruiting efforts, we've found three new members in the last Month, so expect good business from us," The Boxer turned towards me and waved at the bleak looking Officer, "Jericho, this is Officer Kurosawa and this is where we get our weapons. Look around and find something you can use effectively, though we do have a budget of five thousand so choose wisely." I narrowed my eyes at the Name andthe man's face, which was looking more and more familiar the longer I looked, before I sniffed and moved forward. I pulled out my Dad's Beat up old Flip Phone and scrolling through the Contacts, but Akihiko was concerned and made it known, "...Jericho?"

I held up a finger and continued before a smile broke out across my face and I dialled the number. I looked up at the Officer, who was staring at me with a confused look before his phone erupted into a staccato of jingles. He pulled it out and I saw his eyes widen as he looked at the name, and then he looked at me. I placed the phone against my ear with a smile, and motioned for him to do the same, "Come on, its Tradition. I _watched _him explain this to you."

With dawning realization he accepted the call and mimicked me, "Hello?" he bit out as he looked harassed.

"Calling in a favor," I responded with relish, "My Dad saved your life ten years ago when you got in trouble with the Yamaguchi-Gama in downtown Fukuoka, you had two knife wounds and a severe concussion. You were so out of it that you said you wanted a Burger before you went to the Hospital. My dad brought you one the next morning."

He grimaced as I described it, before he nodded and hanging up the phone, "Where is your Old Man? He's the one I owe."

"Dead for two years now," I replied evenly, smiling when he looked repentant, "Cancer, nothing anyone could have done. Besides, I remember holding your blood in while my dad drove. Now, About this favor…"

"Listening," He answered in kind. I looked one last time at my phone, laughing at my Dad's Naming system and _Sour-face Cop_ once more before putting it away. I could smell the confusion radiating off of Akihiko as he watched the scene play out, but I decided to ignore it for now.

"I need a nice Sword, European Broadsword with a hefty Crossguard if possible. One Handed, balanced above the hilt," I explained without missing a beat. I had a feeling that we'd be seeing a bit of each other as long as I was in town, seeing as he had all the goodies. And what a plan that was, use the Police to smuggle in your contraband that would set off alarm bells. Pretty ingenious.

He scrunched up his face in thought, "I'll see what I have, but You'll have to test the Balance yourself," I nodded and watched him move off into the Back of the station to start rummaging through cardboard boxes.

"What was that?" Akihiko asked as he moved to stand next to me, trying to look casual and failing.

"My Dad never payed with money when he didn't need to, he paid with favors. I don't like the currency myself, got him into a lot of stupid situations I don't want to repeat," I explained with a shrug, "But every once in a while I find someone that he never got around to cashing in on and I get to use it in his place. It was in his will and everything. That was the last favor he had in Japan though, so don't expect this to happen often."

"What did your dad do?" he asked with a look of disbelief on his face. I didn't blame him. The man was an enigma.

"He was American Navy and we lived on base in Okinawa and a few other places before he decided to Retire and take me globe trotting," He shot me a look askance at that, but I just shrugged, "I had my Passport before it turned to ashes, so I ain't got any proof, but it's true."

"Right," He said simply as we waited for the man to come back. I stood at order while Akihiko eventually grew restless and began to look around in a box of Brass knuckles. After about ten minutes Kurosawa walked out with two swords in sheaths and placed them on the counter.

I grabbed the one on the right with a Black Leather Scabbard and a flared Crossguard that looked to be made to catch descending blades and not let them slip by. I drew the naked steel and tested the edge, noting that it was as dull as a butter knife. "Three feet of Carbon-Steel. We confiscated that from a French arms dealer twelve years ago during a much larger bust. He liked the look of it, but its definitely functional with a bit of care," He grunted when I sighed, before slapping a hand down on the Brown sheath, "Straight crossguard and a much heavier blade on this one, if an inch or two shorter, but still Caron-Steel. Before you check, it's not sharp either. Unfortunately all of the Blades here are dull on purpose, can't justify keeping them sharp to anyone who came looking." He placed a leather travel bag on the counter and unzipped it to display the contents; a Whetstone and cleaning kit.

I took a step back before swinging the blade down in a vertical chop in a two handed grip a few times, before resheathing it and doing the same with the other. Finally I drummed my fingers on the counter and tried to think about what I needed. Finally I just shrugged and decided to get both.

"I'll take both of them, one to sharpen and use, the other to practice with," I justified mostly to myself, but also to Kurosawa, who was nodding his head in acceptance. He pulled out a cardboard box and packed them in before filling it with packing peanuts. Easier to carry through the Mall, I assumed. I hefted the package under my right arm and turned to Akihiko who just stared at me. "Ready to go? I need to start Sharpening _yesterday_ if I wanna be ready for tonight."

He just shook his head at me.

* * *

_End of Chapter._

* * *

_Alright, Good Set up chapter, Next chapter is action oriented to establish how much mayhem our friend here can get up to in a week and ends with Hamuko waking up in the hospital. Interaction is hard to manage when you have ground to cover, so next Chapter will be an important Interaction for Jericho._

_Thanks for reading and stuff._

_Alright, Jericho Out._


	5. Intro Arc: Testing the Waters

**April 10th 2009, Dark Hour. Northern Iwatodai.**

* * *

The second time being in the Dark Hour was much less jarring, and made me much less nauseous. There were similarities though; my watch went out alongside the bright streetlights that stood on the sides of the road to leave the oversized, yellow-green moon the only source of illumination. There were still random puddles of blood, and of course there were Shadows and Coffins. Those seemed to be waiting for us the moment the change occured, and only long trusted instincts had me pulling my new friend behind the nearest thing to hide.

"I hope you know how to use that thing," my companion whispered to me as we hid behind the smallest Car I have ever had the displeasure to use as cover. I quirked an eyebrow at him as my right hand latched onto the handle of my unchristened sword while my left landed on the grip of the Evoker that Akihiko had procured for me. I had been too busy preparing to deny his help, as I was already feeling naked without my jacket, but it needed to be washed very badly.

Because I had no idea if Shadows had a sense of smell, but if they did I would have attracted every single one of the things in the city with that much dried blood.

"Stick them with the pointy end," I responded slowly, revelling in the dread that fell across his face, "I'm joking. I know enough, and the rest... I'll figure out along the way," I raised my head up and peeked through the Window of the tiny electric car.

A dozen, spread around the street. Probably more that I couldn't see hidden behind corners of buildings or even just in the shadows that they were named after.

Unfortunately, in this little slice of alternate reality I had very little in the way of context, which could only come with time. I'd have to live through it a few more times before my other senses could actually be more useful. I crouched back down next to my partner as he slipped on his weapons, which looked like someone had sewn plates of metal into a pair of brown leather gloves. "You take the right, I'll take the left. Got anything that'll distract them?" I questioned as I followed suit and drew my sword as quietly as I could.

The element of surprise could determine a fight faster than most other factors, after all. Distraction was an easy way to compound the effect.

Without hesitation he withdrew his Evoker, the sight of which still set me on edge. No matter what he or mitsuru said, placing any type of gun against my head still made me anxious no matter how empty it was. He nodded his head as he pushed himself off the ground gracefully, "I think I've got something. Let's show him how it's done, Polydeuces. **Mazio!**" And with the crescendo of broken glass that was quickly becoming familiar the ghostly form of his Persona appeared in the air above the Car.

I pushed off of the ground and ran full tilt around it, not wasting time to engage the nearest enemy even as blindingly bright lines of electricity shot through the five nearest Shadows, linking them together in a chain as the energy continued to stream through them. I fell upon one of those Cupid look-alikes as it tried to recover from its stun, sweeping my blade down with both hands to cleave through the thing, noting with relish the ease of the maneuver with an actual weapon. The sound of nails scrambling on Asphalt alerted me too late to the presence of one of the puddles inking its way up behind me, its bulk smashing into me with more speed than I honestly thought it could muster.

But I had easily dealt with Shadows like these _before_ I had a Persona. I grit my teeth through the pain of its scratching and biting down on my arm and slammed my shoulder into it in return. A horizontal swipe that it slinked back from also allowed me to put space between us and reset my stance, but my attention was stolen before I could reclose the distance..

A pulse came from the base of my neck and for a disconcerting moment it felt like I had another set of eyes in the back of my head. The image of my back showed the rest of my enemies closing in, all seven of them, but my vision focused not on the ones that were closing in on me. Instead as my perception of the sight slowed to a crawl the image zoomed in on a Feather Duster floating twenty feet away as it began to form a blob of fire in front of its crest. Mind a whirl as it was, it was all I could do to swing my sword like a machete to slice into the advancing Blob. I grimaced when its mask turned away my blow without slicing it in half, but I paid it little heed and instead turned around on my heel and charged towards the more threatening of my enemies.

According to both Mitsuru and Akihiko you could feel what your Persona was capable of, and I had a strong feeling that magic was not the specialty of **Berserker**. He'd try to keep me alive and punch things, which I could understand. Unfortunately, it was not the best for range.

Therefore, I'd prioritize those that could fight at range.

With fury in my voice I shouted a brief but startlingly loud sound that was without words or meaning, serving only as an exhale as I swung in wide arcs that chopped through and sent enemies back as I cut through the jungle of enemies made of black viscous goo between me and my true target. Another puddle charged me, but I learned my lesson and braced with both hands as my blade soared in diagonally and managed to bisect the mask. I barreled through with my sword held pointing at my enemy's mask, stomping with my right foot to stabilize myself in front of the charging pair of men skewered as they spun towards me.

My new blade met them as they spun, their force meeting mine in a shower of Black sludge. The Spear that connected the two bodies continued forward even faster than before and knocked me aside as the dead weight dissolved away, but I used the momentum of the blow to keep moving towards my target. The Feather Duster had been joined by a pair of Cupids, and when I got within five feet of them they scattered, two to my right and one to my left.

The Trick was to use the maneuver to confuse me and get behind the few melee fighters while taking potshots. Without hesitation I broke right, a one handed swing to my right missed by a few inches as my target floated out of reach, but I followed it with a Shoulder Charge that forced them to disengage or face me in a melee.

Not that I was going to give them much choice in the matter. The Fireball was lobbed reflexively into my face and it was all I could do cover my face with my left arm as I continued my charge. I absorbed the force as best I could, which was better than I would have thought.

I chocked it up to the Perk of having a Persona. Let me take more hits or something.

I wasn't complaining.

Instead I closed my eyes as Smoke billowed out from the Attack and hurtled through. My left hand shot out of the Cloud the moment my eyes could open without stinging, snarling viciously as I latched onto the feeble wrist of a Cupid. With the power that only a downward chop could generate I bisected him properly. From the crouch the move left me in I pushed off the ground and cut the Feather duster desperately trying to escape in a similar fashion, before wincing as I felt something pierce my shoulder. I turned towards the last of the ranged Fighters that were focused on me, catching another Arrow in the Tricep.

I bared my teeth and Roared as I surged forward to meet his vanguard of the single enemy I had left standing. The tip of my blade scraped across the asphalt in a shower of sparks as I ran and met the last Puddle, stomping to arrest my momentum while turning my hips as I yanked my sword up to meet its lunge. I followed it up with a vicious flurry of one handed blows until the Puddle disintegrated as opposed to reformed.

And then my gaze swept up to the Shaking form of the Archer.

With great effort it tried to pull back its bow, but it was unable to hold it straight and instead floated up in a backflip to generate a glowing green ball of energy, but _like hell_ was I just gonna let that happen.

As the world once again slowed down the words of my Pops came to me, as they often seemed to do. "_A bladed weapon is more dangerous than a holsteredPistol within twenty-one feet, Pup. Any distance bigger than that means you need to either __**run for cover**_ _or get you a gun,_" I quickly did my best estimation of the distance and found it to be about two car lengths, so about thirty feet. My sword immediately stabbed into the ground as a stabilizer as my injured left pulled my Evoker out to press against my neck.

With a moment of hesitation, where I cursed my cowardice, I pulled the trigger. The Sound of Metal being torn asunder blared in my head as a splitting headache made my eyes water, but I powered through. Couldn't leave the Big guy hanging, "**Berserker!**" I bellowed as my enemy finished its attack and lobbed it my way. I closed my bum right eye to aim it properly and finished the Evocation, "**Finish it!**"

As the ball that seemed to be made of trapped currents of air zoomed towards me, I wondered if I had just dreamed the first time, before the headache intensified to the point of making hold onto my sword to stay upright. '**If you insist,**' the uncharacteristically calm voice of my persona before the pain stopped all at once.

I looked up and watched as the same tear in reality appeared, only a bit smaller than last time. About the Size of a manhole cover. From within the very much corporeal Fist of my Persona shot out, meeting the projectile as it zoomed towards its target. The green energy washed around the Gunmetal Grey fist, and it continued forwards unhindered, digging up the Sidewalk with its knuckles before slamming the thing into the Wall to splatter underneath the Attack.

I watched as the fist retracted into the whole, which repaired itself like a glass pain breaking in reverse. '**Try to not call on me much,**' **Berserker** spoke inside my head solemnly, '**I fear we may break permanently if you do.**' I wondered if he meant the Pain, so I looked over at Akihiko who was smoothly transitioning between melee and using his evoker without much harm coming to him. His persona came without much issue, and did as he asked without incident.

It also was see through and only existed for half a second at a time.

I filed it away for things to figure out later, a very long and ever growing list, before yanking out the Arrow in the meat of my arm. I couldn't stop the shiver that traveled up my spine as it scraped across the Bone and I threw the arrow away in disgust. I could already feel the hints of **Berserker** patching me up, not even bothering to stop to remove the harder to reach Arrow before barrelling in to help Akihiko.

When he noticed me coming towards him he gave me a cheerful smile, before decking a shadow as it made its way towards what should have been his blind-spot, "Already finished? Cool," He ducked under an attack and landed an uppercut on a tap dancing Hand the size of a man. Swiftly he unholstered his Evoker and summoned his Persona. Burly and with armor, long blonde hair, and unnaturally pale eyes and skin. The thing raised its weird jet turbine hands and fired two massive lances of light that skewered the few stragglers that had still been standing. And with that one final explosion of noise, the Shadows had been neutralized.

I looked about the street to calm myself, as the high of a good fight was most certainly still in me, before finally sheathing my sword once more. Akihiko gave me a wan smile as he stripped off his Gloves, "Mitsuru says I like to play with my food, but I was still keeping an eye on you. You need to learn a bit of control with your weapon," He said as he scratched the back of his head, "And I couldn't help but notice that you barely used your Persona."

I looked back at the green-lit sidewalk that **Berserker **had left a few new cracks in, "But when I do it's a whopper," He agreed with a small chuckle before waving me to follow him as he moved off down the street. I hopped a few long steps and caught up with the man, deciding that if he was the guy who ran around fighting the things, he'd be the guy to ask practical questions, "Are all Shadows like this? Besides that one big fuck they seem rather weak." All things considered. I hadn't even _needed_ to rely on my Persona to take on a small group of them.

"Weak? No, they're not all like that, but the ones on the streets are," He answered as we past by shops populated by those same Coffins that stood upright. Civilians stuck in time. "They're not the ones that we're really concerned with anyways. S.E.E.S. could have dealt with the Roamers without any new blood, but we definitely needed more people to deal with our objective," I hopped back as his hand shot up to point a finger in the distance, and when I turned to follow it my eyes widened.

A tower that seemed to stretch into the clouds. I couldn't make out much with my distinct lack of vision, but I could tell simply from the way the thing bent halfway through that it wasn't man-made.

"That's where our real mission is," He explained confidently as he lowered his arm back to his side. The finality that he spoke with made it obvious that he wasn't about to explain what it was, and if I was honest I didn't really want to know. Probably above my paygrade anyways. "We aren't moving on it until we've seen how many people we can recruit. For now, you and me are going to handle the Roamers that are responsible for the Apathy Syndrome."

Like a switch in my brain the compulsion reared its head. Akihiko or not, whether I liked it or not, I'd be doing this _every _night. Unnatural Towers and the Dark hour I knew very little about, but a way to discernibly help people? I was all over that.

"Now let's get back," My partner interrupted my thoughts, "That group was larger than I've seen in a long time. Might as well tell Mitsuru, and I think you've got a good taste of fighting-"

"You go on ahead," I interrupted, cursing myself in my head. My right hand reached over my shoulder and gripped the Arrow that was still lodged in the flesh of my shoulder. With a grunt I ripped it out and dropped it onto the ground as **Berserker** helped close the hole up. When he gave me a concerned look I smiled broadly at him, "Look it can't be that much longer until Dark Hour ends and the only good shadow is a dead one apparently. I just want to clear as many of the buggers out as I can, that alright?"

He gave me a hard look that I didn't even _try _to place before hiking a thumb over his shoulder, "I'll give you that you can use your sword, but can you pull your evoker without hesitation? That's the kicker here, because hesitation will get you killed if you don't have any backup."

With much less grace than the grey-haired teen in front of me, I slung the Pistol up from my waistband and placed it against the side of my neck. Pain was transient, and Injuries could be dealt with. But Trust was much more fickle. Either I proved that I was to be trusted to fight alone now or I probably never would be. '**I agree**,' Came the intonations of my Mirror Image, '**This Pup has challenged us. That cannot go unanswered.**'

So I pulled the trigger.

I kept my face placid even as the feeling of my Brain tearing itself apart erupted to life alongside the sound of destroyed metal. The hand made of steel tore its way back into reality just long enough to deliver a thumbs-up and disappear, taking the pain with it. An internal breath of relief sounded as Akihiko shook his head at the display.

"Fine, fine. Go ahead," He waved me away with a smile as he turned to walk back to the Dorm, "Don't take any risks and all of that. See something you can't handle, run away. I'll be waiting for you when you get back. The dorm's straight down this street," he said as he pointed at the way home, "I expect you can find your way from here."

"Har-dee har har," Jericho deadpanned at his back as he walked away and I continued on my own way, "You're hilarious." We had been there less than an hour ago. I wasn't that bad. Now my Dad, _he_ had been that bad. He'd just start walking and forget the world around him.

I was too twitchy, too concerned, to tune out entirely. My ears twitched as the distinctive sounds of Shadows appearing, bubbling out of the darkness nearby. I gripped hilt of my sword and twisted around to find them, and yet another new Shadow was there. As opposed to the feather-duster with a big horn, this one had a book in its head, just above its mask.

If the sight of an unfamiliar Shadow caught me off guard then it sighting me must have not even been a thought, because the thing screeched an unholy noise before bolting out of its hiding place behind a trashcan, knocking it over in the process. With _Woop _I immediately gave chase, quickly distancing myself from Apartment buildings that were in the areas surrounding the Dorm.

It looked over behind itself as it flew away from me before screeching again and putting on some speed to gain some ground.

I wasn't about to let that happen.

"_**GET BACK HERE!**_"

* * *

**April 11th 2009, 0005 Hours. Iwatodai Dorm.**

* * *

"He's not back yet," Mitsuru observed, less for his benefit but more to let him know that it was noticed. That someone was going to be executed when they returned. Only years of dealing with Mitsuru let Akihiko see the mixture of Annoyance and Concern in her posture and words. Unfortunately for their newest member, that had never lessened her Punishments before. She looked over the top of her laptop to meet his eyes expectantly, "Which means that you should probably just describe what you were talking about before, seeing as the man of the hour isn't back yet."

He huffed a sigh as he leaned forward to put his elbows on his knees, "Alright. He's another weird one, or weird for us. We don't have a lot to go on, but he hasn't shown the ability to utilize multiple Persona like Hamuko, thank God, or the limited empathy and telepathy like Penthesilea. Wielders seem to be more unique than we were led to believe."

The redhead nodded in acceptance, her eyes staring ahead unfocused in thought, "Yes, there seem to be much more it than _Combat_ and _Support_ wielders like we thought. That it took so long to find more Persona-Users is a hindrance for information, but there is nothing to be done. What makes him different, then?" She smiled blithely, "I'm sure he wouldn't mind me saying that he does not act like a Support User."

"Definitely not," the Boxer denied with a shake of his head, "Quite the opposite. He's definitely Combat, no doubt about that. Maybe it's just because of how long he's had it, but he doesn't call on it. He just _dives_ in to enemies and starts hacking like a wildman. Not that he's bad with a sword or anything, but its most definitely more power than skill," He shrugged, trying to find a way to describe it, "From what I could see, the whole schtick of his Persona is empowering his body passively. He took hits well and managed to carve through Shadows with a half-sharpened blade. And he can use his Evoker, despite his desire to run in swinging like a lunatic, so I cleared him to practice on the stragglers around the City."

"A good choice, if there are as many as you said. Part of me is impressed, the other is agitated," She acknowledged charitably, before scowling at the door, "What I don't understand is where he got the energy to go chasing Shadows, we were both up before dawn."

"What I'm concerned about is the fact that he's running around town with a sword on his hip," Akihiko disagreed as he stood up, "Don't go too hard on the man, he's just excited."

Mitsuru dipped her head in acquiescence, "I'll try my best." That was all he could hope for, and left without saying anything else. Contrary to what he had told Jericho, he had gone home mostly because he was tired and he was surprised that he wasn't as well. Two nights fighting shadows in a row.

He was going to regret the decision tomorrow morning, he could feel it.

* * *

**April 11th 2009 0800 Hours. Train to Port Island Station.**

* * *

I tried and failed to stifle a yawn as I sank into my seat on the Mag-rail, snorting as the junior to my left tried to squeeze herself through the armrest on her left. I'm sure if there had been an option the students packed in tightly around me would've sat on the outside of the train just based on their Faces. And the flinching every time I moved.

"Long night?" Asked the Brunette that had been tasked with making sure I got to school. Her words made it pretty obvious that she had very little interest in my answer, but she was polite. I'd give her that. Much like when we first met, she had a defiant look on her face and a bit of distaste as she looked at me.

I flashed her a smile, delighting as everyone except for the girl shuffled away from it, "Yes. Very long night. And an irate Ice queen didn't make it any better." Fortunately for me I was made of stern stuff, or the tongue-lashing would've hurt my pride.

As if I had any left. Pride was a lot like Mercy; A luxury for those who could afford it. That was certainly not a group of people I was included in. If I was honest, I was just glad that you couldn't summon your Persona outside of the Dark Hour or I'd be a little freezer-burnt.

"Maybe come back on time then," She sniffed out at me, and I finally realized that she was _angry_ with me, "And save us all a bit of sleep. She can get a bit loud when things… Don't go her way."

I snorted at the snide words, obviously a dig at both me and Mitsuru. But in her defense, she was right. Not that I really had much of a say in the matter, "Eh, I was late and I'm a cunt. Don't think you should blame her for last night."

"I don't," She returned easily, giving me a fiery glare that made me laugh and scratch the back of my neck. Fair enough. I looked out the window and frowned at the sight of sparkling blue water in the rising sun. More accurately, I frowned at the fact that the image was shifting about.

"How the hell is a train bouncing like this on mag-lev?" I questioned out loud, unsurprised when the faint outline of **Berserker** shrugged form the transparent reflection. My thoughts were interrupted as everyone in the Cart leaned towards me, with various faces of discomfort, and we rounded the bend. My good eye caught movement in my periphery and my left hand shot out to grip the hand by the wrist.

The would-be pickpocket turned his head around with a startled look in his eyes. Honestly, the nerve of some people. When we came out of the turn everyone else returned to their previous positions except for him as I kept a hold of his wrist, gripped tightly enough for the blood flow to be cut off. "L-let go of me!" He tried valiantly to bluff his way out of the situation, but I narrowed my eyes at him and decided to bluff him right the fuck back.

"Oh, how kind of you," I drawled as Yukari and a few others watched, dumbfounded, "Returning her Phone like that. Must have_... fell out _of her bag during the turn, right? Because only a **stupid man **would try to steal in front of **me**."

The young man was unkempt and scruffy, but wearing the uniform for the School across the Bay in Iwatodai. From what I'd seen so far, the place seemed to be a breeding ground for wanna-be criminals like those I saw my first night in town. His shirt was untucked and his slacks were crumpled up like it were the first time in a long time wearing them. And he happened to be on a train with a bunch of Gekkoukan students.

"R-right," he said as soon as he realized where he was, with a bunch of students surrounding him and me with his arm in my grasp. Time to play the smart choice and walk away intact. He bowed slightly to Yukari as he began to sweat, "You dropped this Miss." After she snatched the small device away from the man he pushed his way through the crowd to find a spot away from us, but the group that had surrounded us kept an eye on him, whispering and talking about it already.

I followed suit, closing my right eye to catalogue his face for later research. I'd track him down and figure out what the exact state of things around here was. What state was the place if he though he could get away with that.

"Creep," Yukari muttered as she stuffed her phone back into her bag and glared at the man, "Iwatodai Losers always come after Gekkoukan students, they seem to really hate us."

I doubted it. Watching the man as he tried to ignore all the students staring him down, I didn't see hate. I saw desperation. He was obviously more nervous than malicious, which was actually a bigger concern. A malicious man with a knife won't stab you unless you make a move. A nervous one will do it because he's on edge. He was here to make money, and if I were honest I could understand why. Gekkoukan students seemed to be quiet and diligent people, well-kept and well-funded.

Perfect targets.

Yukari looked back at me with an uneasy expression, "Thank you, by the way."

I grunted in response as we arrived at the station, not really concerned with her thanks, before standing eagerly and moving out after the man, but he was lost in the crowd before I could follow. With a huff I stuffed my hands in my pockets and moved off towards the School.

Glumly, I decided that I'd go to school instead of chasing down thieves.

* * *

**April ? 2009, ? hours. Velvet Room.**

* * *

Red eyes blearily blinked awake, idly taking note of the blue suede background and the bizarre goings-on behind those in front of her. A small smile made its way to her lips as she looked at the old man with great, big, bloodshot eyes that were set above an absolutely massive nose. His hands were folded in front of him as he smiled at her, and beside him was a much more stoic man who wore a blue suit jacket and black pants, with his pale gray hair swept under a small hat.

"Well hello again," came the curious and floaty voice of the old man as he waved for his assistant, who stepped forward and placed down a sheet of paper onto the Single piece of furniture outside of the two chairs that she and Igor sat upon, "You have accepted the Deal once more. Forgive me, but I am required to ask; Do you remember the rules, my dear?"

Hamuko nodded silently, wondering how many times she had answered these questions. How many more times she would be forced to do so again.

Igor smiled once more, and despite the ominous appearance, she smiled at him as well. Theodore tried to hide his smile as he usually did, but after so long of dealing with him he shouldn't have even bothered. Her and these two? They knew each other like the closest of friends.

Now time for the only question she'd had in a long time, as her eyes narrowed at them and she brushed the sweep of hair from in front of her face and leaned back into the chair. Despite everything else, the chair had never ceased to be the most uncomfortable piece of furniture she had ever encountered. "I saw someone new," She narrowed her eyes when they only showed confusion at the statement, "Not just a passerby in the street either. Someone new in _my _dorm. Someone knew fighting Shadows."

Long fingers clapped together under a long nose, "Is that the oddity I felt? Something… new coming from the sea of souls. _Taken_ from the sea of souls. This is most curious. A mere coincidence? A trick of fate?" He looked over her shoulder with the same mysterious smile that he always wore.

She had very little in the way of information, and was rightfully concerned for the future. "I was hoping you'd know more," When Theodore quirked the corner of his lip for a millisecond she knew that there was something she was missing. That was the worst part of this friendship of theirs, they absolutely refused to tell her anything that she wanted to know, but were convinced that they told her what she needed.

What **Horseshit**.

Theodore stepped forward and gracefully gathered the documents in is slender hands, gracing her with a rare smile, "The only assurance I can give you is that you have lost nothing. The possibility taken from the sea of soul was outside of even your impressive array of Masks. Please, return to your rest. I have a feeling… you shall need it."

The sides of her vision began to fade, _fast_, and she felt her mind whirring to a stop. '_Time to start anew_,' She thought blearily as she fell into the last restful sleep she'd be having for the next year.

* * *

**April 15th 2009 Dark Hour. Naganaki Shrine.**

* * *

"Ark Ark!"

"Thanks for the heads up, I couldn't _**fuckin tell!**_" I yelled over my shoulder at the dog standing in front of the offering box. I deflected yet another jab aimed for my soft spots with a snarl and a swing of my blade. It had taken approximately a _second _for me to gain the trust of the Shiba Inu that took residence at the shrine, simply by way of mutual interests.

One would be forgiven for assuming that after four nights spent hunting down Shadows, I'd have gotten a handle on things, but even now each encounter was different, was unique in its own way. Sometimes Shadows fled at the first sight of me and sometimes they stood tall. Some that I had thought specialized in Ranged Combat would slap me upside the head. There was simply no predicting it, as each one acted and moved independently.

A great example of this is the fact that I had chased this particular Shadow half-way across town, only for it to be cornered on the grounds of the Shrine by a Dog.

I had been surprised by the sight of the dog barking and growling at the ghostly Knight in purple armor as it stared down its lance, but I had jumped in before I was witness to its death. The thing floated back on its ghostly steed made only of segmented armor, and I warily stood between it and the Dog, who simply stood still with its teeth bared at the thing while growling. I checked it over for injuries, but it startled me by barking.

Immediately following the sound the Weapon of my enemy sliced into the back of my leg, and I cursed at the flare of pain. I waved my weapon at it as it floated back out of range, and I eyed it warily. It was quick, and sturdy if my prior experience with this type of Shadow was to be believed.

The issue was that it was the size of a small pigeon, and I had _very_ little depth perception.

This turn of events led to me chasing the thing around the Playground as it took cheap shots and stayed out of my range. Eventually the Dog must have decided I was in need of tips because he began barking in loud piercing tones when I thought I had my shot lined up, and the sound would always make me flinch or jump. It was starting to get on my nerves.

"_Ark!_" The grey-furred hound barked from directly behind me, causing me to swing my sword wildly. I began to curse before the swing struck true, knocking the flying knight off course to bounce off of a Telephone Pole.

"Nice one Boy!" I cackled loudly and dove back in to follow up the strike with a beating, but my enemy proved its resilience by immediately floating back to its metaphorical feet and readying its weapon. Then the thing stole my idea and charged me right the fuck back.

My eyes widened as the tip of its lance began to glow bright green, before once again my world slowed. Like a renaissance painting, all motion was stopped, with dirt flying off of the purple-masked knight's armor as it turned, the yellow green light soaking into the metal plates that fluttered and flapped as it whirled. Behind it I saw trash that had been on the ground now blowing away from the breeze that it was creating.

My main focus was the piercing green point of a spear being jammed towards my waiting face. Through extreme effort I began matching the movement by forcing my head to the left, not exactly trusting my ability to take two foot steel rod to the eye. The veins in my neck bulged under the effort, and I could feel how red my face was getting from the strain. When the tip touched my face I grit my teeth and pushed through, my eye twitching as the pain lanced through my face in response to the breaking of skin.

And then I fell forward, no longer caught in a time warp, rolling away from the thing as it cantered and shook its reins about. Then the sound of Splintering wood stole all three of our attentions, as the Lance's green bolt smashed through the Telephone that was already weak from having a Shadow thrown at it. Through wide eyes I stared up at the thing as it began to creak and groan before slowly tilting towards the ground. With a yelp I Scrambled out of the way as the safety tethers gave way with a series of loud metallic _snaps_, followed by the _twangs _of the Power lines.

I threw myself down the steps in a painful roll as it fell with a _crash _and a _splat_. When I looked up from the bottom of the stairs, it was to the sight of a rapidly dissolving Shadow and an Irate Dog running around in a panic. The poor thing stopped and barked once more in my direction, and I yelled back "That was _not_ my fault and you know it!" Because the thing's eyes were just so accusatory. I felt bad for its owner, having such a judgy dog.

I huffed a sigh and decided that I needed to stop tempting fate.

The issue was that I managed to do so simply by existing. Ah well, that was an issue for another time. Right now it was time to deal with a Downed Transformer before the Power came back on.

* * *

_End of Chapter._

* * *

**Jericho Ruadh [Berserker, Hanged Man] Level 7;**

**Hp; 222**

**Sp; 9**

**St; 9**

**Ma; 1**

**En; 13**

**Ag; 4**

**Lk; 1**

**Atk; 66 Base, 90 Accuracy.**

**Def; 42 Base.**

**Eva; 16 Base.**

**Skills;**

**Regenerate 1- Regenerate 2% of max health per round.**

**Sharp Student- Lowers user's chance of sustaining a critical hit.**

* * *

_Nice. Done with the low Hamuko Chapters and now on to the actual story. This is a bit of a character study of the Main Characters of Persona Games, actually. I think that I've crafted a believable reason for Jericho to be here, actually. I also decided that the secular side of Tatsumi Port Island was very neglected in game, as the only real world that the game gives us is the Apathy Syndrome stuff alongside the barely used Kirijo Group being Yakuza._

_I intend to Flesh that side of things out a bit with this character, as he isn't on a time crunching schedule to max his social links. He can actually explore as well. Time to make some waves, I suppose. The man wields a Broadsword that is half a hand larger than the Main Character's/Mitsuru's Rapiers and sabers, but half a hand smaller than a greatsword. Also a Euro sword is typically twice the weight of a rapier and one point five times the weight of a Asian longsword of the same length. This means trading speed for smashing and crushing force, as well as having the possibility to two hand the sword unlike a Rapier or Saber for added force while also negating the Greatsord's weakness of __**needing**_ _two hands, which would make the Evoker unwieldy._

_There was a very nice critical review last Chapter, and I'll definitely take the advice to heart._

_Hope you enjoy, review if you have issues or even just questions._

_Jericho Out._


End file.
